Universals, Absolutes and Inalienables: the Indestructible Rights
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22370/rhv2014iss4pp63-80Keywords:
Justice, morals, inalienable rights, universal rights, absolute rightsAbstract
There is a particular moral theory in which human rights are conceived as indestructible rights (as inalienable, universal and absolute rights). Using Dworkin’s words we could say this is a good way of taking rights seriously. However, we may also ask whether there is another way of taking rights as seriously as Dworkin says without being a supporter of that theory. From this point of view, perhaps human rights cannot be considered neither as absolute (in the sense that they cannot be defeated in any circumstances); nor universally valid (unless we first sort out the problem about the validity of the moral and the legal systems); and not even inalienable. Can this proposal be seen as another way of taking rights seriously?
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication, with the work after publication simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).