what is the authoritarian mode, mystical mode and retionalistic mode of knowledge?

Answer 1

You are referring to the forms of knowledge--and there are slightly different versions of the answer (though they areequivalent). Here's a summary of Max Weber's typology (if you want to know more, his work is easy to find). He posits four (not three) forms of knowledge:

Revealed (mystical)--where the source of knowledge is held to be some sort of spiritual revelation (e.g., the Bible)

Traditional--where custom is the source and authority for knowledge (e.g., we know to stand when the national anthem is played--it is tradition).

Authoritarian--where knowledge is (supposedly) dispensed by social superiors--and their status as purveyors of knowledge is the source of the authority/legitimacy of the knowledge. Parents often resort to this (do it because I said so) even if they shouldn't. The military operates on this principle to some degree--they have to (the middle of a battle being a poor dime to debate issues!).

The rationalistic (or analytical) is based on evidence--often but not always the scientific method. The core of this approach is that the validity of knowledge is based on results. In other words, can we LOGICALLY expect a given outcome to follow from a given action.

These forms of knowledge are not usually seperate in actual practice. Tradition, religious, and authoritarian knowledge aare frequently overlapping. In my example, soldiers rely heavily on rationalism, though tey must subject themselves to arbitrary authority at times. And even scientists usually find it impossible to escape their preconceptions (paradigms) and are like to catch themsleves relying on "what everybody knows" (tradition).

Answer 2

Authoritarian means somebody in a position of leadership is responsible for telling you what to think, like Stalin or Mao in former communist countries. Beautifully caricatured in Orwell's novel "1984".

Mystical means the same thing but with the leader(ship) having spiritual authority. You trust your Guru to know what s/he is doing and follow him/her with blind faith. Or your church or mosque or priest/ess.

Rationalistic means "based on reason", so it's knowledge that has to be "capable of being justified by rational argument".

There are other possible ways of knowing, of which the most precious is intuition.

Answer 3

Authoritarian equals teachers
Mystical is from religious leaders
Rationalistic is supposedly from science and logic, but since researchers don't use the scientific method, (according to one professor I had) there is no such thing as science.