Grounding Human Rights in a Pluralist World

Grounding Human Rights in a Pluralist World PDF Author: Grace Y. Kao
Publisher: Georgetown University Press
ISBN: 1589017609
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
In 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which declared that every human being, without “distinction of any kind,” possesses a set of morally authoritative rights and fundamental freedoms that ought to be socially guaranteed. Since that time, human rights have arguably become the cross-cultural moral concept and evaluative tool to measure the performance—and even legitimacy—of domestic regimes. Yet questions remain that challenge their universal validity and theoretical bases. Some theorists are ”maximalist” in their insistence that human rights must be grounded religiously, while an opposing camp attempts to justify these rights in “minimalist” fashion without any necessary recourse to religion, metaphysics, or essentialism. In Grounding Human Rights in a Pluralist World, Grace Kao critically examines the strengths and weaknesses of these contending interpretations while also exploring the political liberalism of John Rawls and the Capability Approach as proposed by economist Amartya Sen and philosopher Martha Nussbaum. By retrieving insights from a variety of approaches, Kao defends an account of human rights that straddles the minimalist–maximalist divide, one that links human rights to a conception of our common humanity and to the notion that ethical realism gives the most satisfying account of our commitment to the equal moral worth of all human beings.

Grounding Human Rights in a Pluralist World

Grounding Human Rights in a Pluralist World PDF Author: Grace Y. Kao
Publisher: Georgetown University Press
ISBN: 1589017609
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 249

Get Book Here

Book Description
In 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which declared that every human being, without “distinction of any kind,” possesses a set of morally authoritative rights and fundamental freedoms that ought to be socially guaranteed. Since that time, human rights have arguably become the cross-cultural moral concept and evaluative tool to measure the performance—and even legitimacy—of domestic regimes. Yet questions remain that challenge their universal validity and theoretical bases. Some theorists are ”maximalist” in their insistence that human rights must be grounded religiously, while an opposing camp attempts to justify these rights in “minimalist” fashion without any necessary recourse to religion, metaphysics, or essentialism. In Grounding Human Rights in a Pluralist World, Grace Kao critically examines the strengths and weaknesses of these contending interpretations while also exploring the political liberalism of John Rawls and the Capability Approach as proposed by economist Amartya Sen and philosopher Martha Nussbaum. By retrieving insights from a variety of approaches, Kao defends an account of human rights that straddles the minimalist–maximalist divide, one that links human rights to a conception of our common humanity and to the notion that ethical realism gives the most satisfying account of our commitment to the equal moral worth of all human beings.

Grounding Human Rights in a Pluralist World

Grounding Human Rights in a Pluralist World PDF Author: Grace Yia-Hei Kao
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Human rights
Languages : en
Pages : 464

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Book Description


Human Rights in a Pluralist World

Human Rights in a Pluralist World PDF Author: J. Berting
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Based on two international conferences on human rights (sponsored, in part, by UNESCO): the first was held in Maastricht, the Netherlands, Sept. 1987; the second in Middleburg, the Netherlands, June 1988. The major objective of the conferences was to undertake a systematic analysis of the title topic in order to increase understanding of the issues in different cultural, religious, and socioeconomic contexts. The 21 contributions are not indexed, nor is a coherent bibliography provided. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

In Defense of Human Rights

In Defense of Human Rights PDF Author: Ari Kohen
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134110359
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 410

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Book Description
The argument that religion provides the only compelling foundation for human rights is both challenging and thought-provoking and answering it is of fundamental importance to the furthering of the human rights agenda. This book establishes an equally compelling non-religious foundation for the idea of human rights, engaging with the writings of many key thinkers in the field, including Michael J. Perry, Alan Gewirth, Ronald Dworkin and Richard Rorty. Ari Kohen draws on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a political consensus of overlapping ideas from cultures and communities around the world that establishes the dignity of humans and argues that this dignity gives rise to collective human rights. In constructing this consensus, we have succeeded in establishing a practical non-religious foundation upon which the idea of human rights can rest. In Defense of Human Rights will be of interest to students and scholars of political theory, philosophy, religious studies and human rights.

The Strength of Diversity

The Strength of Diversity PDF Author: Allan Rosas
Publisher: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers
ISBN: 9004479384
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
At the beginning of the 1990's, all CSCE (Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe) States committed themselves to pluralist democracy, the rule of law and human rights and fundamental freedoms. The idea of pluralist democracy is also gaining ground in other parts of the world.

Rights and Wrongs Without God

Rights and Wrongs Without God PDF Author: Ariel Kohen
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Human rights
Languages : en
Pages : 528

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Book Description


Historical Dictionary of Human Rights

Historical Dictionary of Human Rights PDF Author: Jacques Fomerand
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538123061
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 973

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Book Description
The second edition of Historical Dictionary of Human Rights explores both the theory and the practice of international human rights with a focus on the norms and institutions that make up the “architecture” of the global human rights regime and the tools, processes and procedures through which such norms are realized and “enforced.” Particular attention is given to the contextual political and sociological factors that shape and constrain the operation and functioning of international human rights institutions and their state and non-state actors. This is done through a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 1.000 cross-referenced entries on terminology, conventions, treaties, intergovernmental organizations in the United Nations, and non-governmental organizations, as well as some of the pioneers and defenders. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about human rights.

Christianity and Human Rights

Christianity and Human Rights PDF Author: John Witte, Jr
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139494112
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 403

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Book Description
Combining Jewish, Greek, and Roman teachings with the radical new teachings of Christ and St. Paul, Christianity helped to cultivate the cardinal ideas of dignity, equality, liberty and democracy that ground the modern human rights paradigm. Christianity also helped shape the law of public, private, penal, and procedural rights that anchor modern legal systems in the West and beyond. This collection of essays explores these Christian contributions to human rights through the perspectives of jurisprudence, theology, philosophy and history, and Christian contributions to the special rights claims of women, children, nature and the environment. The authors also address the church's own problems and failings with maintaining human rights ideals. With contributions from leading scholars, including a foreword by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, this book provides an authoritative treatment of how Christianity shaped human rights in the past, and how Christianity and human rights continue to challenge each other in modern times.

What Is a Human?

What Is a Human? PDF Author: John H. Evans
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190608099
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
What is a human? Are humans those with human DNA, those in possession of traits like rationality, or those made in the image of God? The debate over what makes human beings unique has raged for centuries. Many think that if society accepts the wrong definition of what it is to be human, people will look at their neighbor as more of an animal, object, or machine-making maltreatment more likely. In the longest running claim, for over 150 years critics have claimed that taking a Darwinist definition results in people treating each other more like animals. Despite their seriousness, these claims have never been empirically investigated. In this groundbreaking book John H. Evans shows that the definitions promoted by biologists and philosophers actually are associated with less support for human rights. Members of the public who agree with these definitions are less willing to sacrifice to stop genocides and are more supportive of buying organs from poor people, of experimenting on prisoners against their will, and of torturing people to potentially save lives. It appears that the critics are right. However, Evans finds that few Americans agree with these academic definitions. Looking at how most of the public defines humanity, we see a much more nuanced picture. In a fascinating account, he shows that the dominant definitions are unlikely to lead to human rights abuses. He concludes that the critics are right about the definitions of a human promoted by academic biologists and philosophers, and are therefore justified in their vigilance. However, because at present few Americans agree with these definitions, the academic definitions would have to spread much more extensively before impacting how the general public acts. Evans' book is a major corrective to the more than century-long debate about the impact of definitions of a human.

Human Rights in a Pluralist World

Human Rights in a Pluralist World PDF Author: Jan Berting
Publisher: Praeger
ISBN: 0313280770
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Published in association with the Netherlands Commission for UNESCO and the Roosevelt Study Center, Middelburg, The Netherlands, this volume is edited from papers delivered at two international conferences on human rights as individual rights and as the rights of collectivities such as states, peoples, and minorities. Papers focus on human and collective rights in Africa, Asia, Eastern and Western Europe, and the United States from a variety of social, political, religious, and moral perspectives.