...Universality of human rights By Maarten Hamming Introduction “Rights are either God-given as part of the divine plan, or they are granted by government as part of the political plan. If we accept the premise that human rights are granted by government, then we must be willing to accept the corollary that they can be denied by government.” – Ezra Taft Benson Despite having been an idea since 539 BC, when Cyrus the Great wrote the Cyrus Cylinder, which had the most basic of human rights, the official Declaration of Human Rights was not set up until after the second world war. The Romans had a concept called Natural Law, which is defined by rules, that are a naturally followed by people. The concept of Natural Law changed into Natural Rights, when the French set up their version of rights all men have. These Natural Rights became Human Rights1 after the second world war, when the allies wrote down the first four human rights: Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from fear and freedom from want, the last one being the right of well-being. The Declaration of Human Rights represents the rights all humans have when they are born without any distinctions. This declaration was written down by the UN and was adopted by 49 countries all over the world including countries like Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Syria. While counties outside of these 49 have not adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, according to the UN they still ought to live by them, because...
Words: 2243 - Pages: 9
...Extent Are Human Rights Universal? Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that ‘all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood’ (The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948). This idea that human rights should be applicable and accessible to all, that they are, in all senses of the word, 'universal', is a topic of debate for many critics in all parts of the world (Tharoor, 1999: 5). The very concept of anything being universal is in itself controversial; can anything in our multicultural, multipolar world ever be ‘truly universal’? This essay aims to evaluate the extent to which human rights are universal, focusing on the imposition of Western norms on Non-Western countries, the cultural relativist view of universal human rights and the defence for human rights as a universal idea. The first hurdle that the idea of universal human rights faces is who defines human rights? Critics such as Michael Ignatieff argue that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a Western document, and that individuals from Non-Western countries are not given the same rights as those in the West (O’Connor, 2014). This is noticeable in the emphasis on individual rights as opposed to communal rights, which are commonly practiced in Non-Western countries. In addition, many of the rights stated are only accessible to the West, such as the right to paid...
Words: 1471 - Pages: 6
...Really Simple Syndication, developed by Aaron Swartz, is a major contribution to the general public. RSS instantly organizes and distributes a wide variety of information on the World Wide Web. RSS provides active information and notifies consumers immediately of new information. One of the most important uses of RSS is to enable and improve student research. A variety of resources in one easy location encourage sharing among peers and enhance comprehension of materials (Glotzbach, Mohler & Radwan, 2009). According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to education. Education is directed to the full development of human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and freedoms ("Universal declaration of," 1998). When education is free and easily available, people are able to increase their public and cultural awareness and understanding of fundamental freedoms. Public information should truly be public so intellectual growth and innovation is promoted, not hindered. Cobi Falconer writes that FAIFE, Free access to Information and Freedom of Information, is necessary for intellectual growth. FAIFE combats censorship and prevents the restriction of...
Words: 735 - Pages: 3
...what is right, 100% of the time, regardless of what could come of it. Also, Kant states that in order for an act to be wholly moral, it must be carried out by a sense of duty. This type of obligation termed by Kant is called the “categorical imperative.” The categorical imperative, according to Kant, acts as a basis to which moral requirements stem from. The categorical imperative also equates to Catholicism’s’ “golden rule” in that they both call for treating human beings as ends, not as means. Duty, according to Kant, has four motives, self-interest, self-preservation, sympathy, and happiness. Kant goes on to explain that we all have a sense of moral duty that is innate in us at birth. When we have feelings of guilt, this is the end result when we have done something that has infringed this moral duty. To Kant, to act moral is to obey the moral laws, which are in us at birth, which is our duty. For example, giving a beggar money for the soul purpose of getting he or she to leave you alone is not an example of a moral duty according to Kant. Instead, he believes that a more genuine example would be someone who gives the beggar money regardless of his or her own self interest, for a reason that does not benefit him or her in any way. If a person acts in a way that benefits others while also benefiting themselves, they are not acting truly moral according to Kant’s definition. For example, doctors help cure diseases and save human lives for profit. Although they save human lives...
Words: 1509 - Pages: 7
...and free within the border of America would you ever consider the importance of human rights? As an American citizen who were raised in this great country, not a single child would question if their human rights were being taken away. Mostly because America could be considered the first pioneer to develop and establish natural human rights within their country. Human rights are important because it give each person an equal access of rights, during World War II the Holocaust was an incident affected human rights by stripping it away from the victims treating them as trashes within society. After World War II, the United Nation was formed to enforced human rights as a universal right to all people. America...
Words: 564 - Pages: 3
...CV0C=Universality of human rights has always been a extensively challenged and debated topic, especially in the recent decades. In recent decades, a widely contested debate over the universality of human rights has emerged. Rights are certainly not universally-applied today, with oppression, torture and various atrocities committed in many parts of the world. This paper will focus on the notion that both in the Third-World and the West, states have used human rights discussion as a political tool, which has weakened arguments for its universality. This perspective will be utilised to break down arguments made against universal human rights before presenting alternative conceptions of universal human rights and identifying developments which may ensure they can be universally applied and respected. It is important to first define the theoretical basis of ‘universal’ human rights. Universal conceptions argue human rights are inalienable, self-evident and applicable to all human beings (Donnelly, 2003, 10). These arguments are often linked to origins in Western philosophy and natural law, developed from philosophers such as John Locke (Langlois, 2009, 12). Many scholars maintain that human rights are ‘pre-political’, thus unchangeable and unaffected by cultural or political variation. Donnelly identifies the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the basis in establishing the “contemporary consensus on internationally recognised human rights” (2003, 22). Human rights hold universal values...
Words: 2646 - Pages: 11
...Kantian Deontology, Utilitarianism and Ethics of Care: A Comparison of Theories, and How They Defend Human Dignity” By Michael Phelan O’Toole (Essay 2) Mass Bay Community College Ethics / PH 102 Professor Robert Tarutis December 17th, 2008 In an effort to better understand what is considered “good,” it is necessary to compare what the ethical theories of utilitarianism, Kantian deontology, and the ethics of care conclude about how one acts morally, and how these different approaches exist as a defense to the concept of our having natural human rights. Deontology is an ethical approach wherein the morality of actions is based on the motives or intentions behind the action, rather than its actual consequences. This philosophy is based around duty and principle, dealing with human rights. Immanuel Kant believed that, as human beings, we have an obligation to adhere to “the good,” in an unconditional sense. For an action to be deemed right, it must be intrinsically good, and thus should not be altered due to someone perceiving it as otherwise, or the consequence of that good act causing harm to someone or something unintentionally. Kantian deontology says that the intent to do right is what matters, as, in acting according, one is upholding the values of good. Kant argues that the effect of a well-intended action in itself cannot be the motivator for the act, as just as a right choice can lead to tangible positive consequences, there is nothing to stop a wrongfully minded act...
Words: 1424 - Pages: 6
...Human rights are said to be universal, inherent, inalienable, and indivisible. In this paper we will discover what each of those mean including discussions which examine if human rights are in fact universal, inherent, inalienable, and indivisible equally and without prejudice for all of humanity. Human rights are universal since they are said to belong to all humans in every society and should accommodate all persons in the world equally. To consider if human rights are in fact universal, one must considerer a wide range of factors including cultural differences and geographic setting to name a few. Human rights are said to be inherent regardless of their nation, location, language, religion, ethnic origin or any other status. To say that human rights are inherent would infer that they exist as permanent and essential or are considered characteristic attributes of all humans. The term inalienable rights refer to a set of human rights that are fundamental, are not awarded by human power, and cannot be surrendered. Human rights are also supposed to be inalienable; because they flow from and protect human existence, they cannot be taken away without endangering the value of that existence. We must consider weather this trait is to be uniformly applied to all of humanity or if there are special considerations (such as incarceration) to which the concept of inalienable human rights may not be appropriate. Human rights are indivisible and interdependent, which means that in...
Words: 1931 - Pages: 8
...Utilitarianism, Ethical Egoism, and Moral Relativism Tom Gardner Ethics is a branch of philosophy that attempts to answer the questions; what’s right? What’s wrong? And why? Moral relativism is an ethics position that essentially states that people have disagreeing moral beliefs and therefore you must but tolerant of other's morals. This position leads to the problematic realization that if this is the case there can be no objective moral truths nor can there be any universal principles. Act utilitarianism and ethical egoism are two different ethics theories that attempt to respond to this challenge of moral relativism in different ways. Ethical egoism attempts to respond to the challenge of moral relativism by justifying that there is a universal principle for what actions are right and what are wrong. It is a form of consequentialism, which means it looks solely at the consequences of action to see if it is right or wrong. The defining sentence of egoism is as follows, “What's good for you is right and what's bad for you is wrong.” This phrase can be interpreted in a number of ways, the most popular one being: every person should act in their own self-interest. This means that when deciding on whether an action is good, any effect on others (mental or physical) by said action has no merit. An egoist that is measuring or justifying an action's goodness is only examining the possible positive or negative effects this action will have on him. The majority of the justification...
Words: 1382 - Pages: 6
...Merely Means Kant states that, “a right act always treats other humans as ends in themselves, never as a mere means”.10 A person needs to be treated as an end in themselves in order to maintain infinite moral worth and to avoid becoming someone of only relative worth.10 A person cannot have his or her welfare sacrificed to the good of others.10 This portion of Kant’s categorical imperative is where many people struggle with the ethics of reproductive cloning. People would like to believe that the resulting clones will be treated as humans, but it is questionable. There is a strong possibility that Kant’s formula of humanity as an end in itself will be violated with the use of reproductive cloning. Savior siblings is a subject that was discussed earlier in this paper. Savior siblings are an excellent example of how clones would be utilized in a manner that violates Kant’s categorical imperative. If a sick and/or dying...
Words: 851 - Pages: 4
...decision making process, is whether the decision in the end is considered morally right by others. Which leads to the extensive amount of controversy to ultimately conclude justifications of morally right action. Let’s consider a dilemma where Kelly’s father is terminally ill, and he asks Kelly whether or not she thinks his company will continue on in the family’s consul. Kelly, however, knows well enough that her brothers are going to sell their father’s company. What should she do? What is the morally right choice? According to a few men in philosophical history, there are various strategic approaches available to provide assistance for this very complication. For instance, the...
Words: 1291 - Pages: 6
...What are the challenges for a universal conception of human rights? AIR234: Order and Justice in World Politics Brian Introduction Human rights…are those rights and privileges held to belong to any person, regardless of any provision that may or may not exist for them in their legal system, simply because, as a human being, there are things which they may not be forbidden by any government. Exactly what the list of these rights is, or why we are entitled to them, varies from thinker to thinker.[1] Human rights are rights to which every person is entitled simply by virtue of being a human living in a society of other humans. Among these are the right to life, liberty, and the security of the person.[2] Challenges for a Universal Conception of Human Rights: The most intense debate among human rights in the past two decades has been dichotomy between Universalists and cultural relativists. Just as development or modernizations theories presumed a “transition” from traditional to industrial society; it was frequently assumed by universities that non-western cultures will gradually evolve so that the Universalist doctrine of human rights will prevail. Challenges for a Universal conception of Human rights presuppose the value of autonomy, which would lead to some variation in human-rights practice in different cultural and socio-economic conditions. The most difficult case is that in which those who are victims of human-rights violations support the culture that legitimates...
Words: 1721 - Pages: 7
...President Barack Obama tried by making an insurance mandate, but even then the US still wasn’t meeting the international law of healthcare being a human right under the United Nations. All members of the UN have pledged to promote health and human rights. To further stress the importance, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was adopted in 1948, and applies to all members of the UN, it ensures that health care is part of the right to an adequate standard of living. (McGill and MacNaughton) While Obamacare made it a law that no one can be denied coverage for a pre-existing medical condition, allowed for children to be on their parents insurance until the age of 26 and made it illegal to charge women more for health insurance then men it has some big problems. The law had a provision that made the states expand Medicaid coverage for poor and working class families, but a Supreme Court ruling in 2012 struck down this provision. The court decided states could choose not to participate in the expansion, which left many that previously...
Words: 1084 - Pages: 5
...Canadian Conundrum Despite having almost just as many guns in circulation, Canada fractions the number of gun-related incidents as compared its neighbor the United States. This fact can be explained by several causes. Canada has universal healthcare, helping those who are mentally impaired. The people of Canada are not as afraid as their neighbors south, who would pull out a gun as quick as they would say hello due to fear. Lastly, housing is excellent in Canada, as even the poorest people can easily acquire housing. Due to these factors, Canadians are happier and have a deeper trust in their government helping prevent widespread gun violence. Healthcare in Canada is universal, meaning everyone who is a legal resident can receive healthcare either for free or at a heavily lowered price. In Canada’s health care system everyone has human rights. Everyones has the right to live (Bowling). In this type of system people are not burdened by hospital bills like people are in america; where one extended trip to the hospital can ruin people financial lives. With universal health care individuals with mental health problems like depression or schizophrenia can receive the help they need instead of...
Words: 500 - Pages: 2
...people uninsured. This leaves many questioning whether the current free market health care system or a universal health care system is better for the citizens of America. Universal healthcare is where every citizen receives the same health care regardless of their race, social status, age, gender, pre-existing conditions or the money they have. A free market system creates a price driven by demand and need. To determine which system is better adapted to the United States, it is important to recognize the strengths, weaknesses and costs of each type of system. What are the pros and cons of a universal healthcare system? According to the essay, “Pros and Cons of Universal Health Care”, the main advantage of universal health care is that all people receive health care regardless of their economic...
Words: 590 - Pages: 3
