Malicse, Angelito: Self-Proclaimed Authority and Self-Referential Ignorance: A Philosophical and Sociological Analysis of Closed Systems of Legitimacy

This paper examines the relationship between self-proclaimed authority and self-referential ignorance within political, religious, institutional, and psychological systems. Self-proclaimed authority emerges when an individual or institution derives legitimacy primarily from its own declarations rather than from independent verification, accountability, or reciprocal social recognition. When combined with self-referential ignorance — the systematic inability of a system to critically evaluate its