Universal Ethics Relational Ethics Responsibility, Rights, and Justice

Universal Ethics

Human Rights Tradition

• Sources of Human Rights

  • Code of Hammurabi (circa 1800 BCE)

    • Recognizes some rights for women, children, and slaves.

  • Cyrus Cylinder (539 BCE)

    • Documents abolition of slavery and promotion of religious freedom.

• Historical Context

  • Foundation for human rights in Western tradition emerges from 16th-century debates over the treatment of indigenous peoples.

    • Bartolomé de Las Casas (1484–1566)

      • Advocates for self-determination and natural rights of indigenous peoples.

      • Engaged in debate with Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda concerning the status of indigenous peoples.

Concept of Natural Rights

• Hugo Grotius (1583–1645)

  • Introduces the notion of inalienable rights; rights can exist independent of the divine.

  • Emphasizes primary moral necessities (freedom, equality, and peaceful cooperation).

• Influence on Government Structure

  • Governments should protect individual rights rather than dictate them.

• Influence of John Locke

  • Differentiates natural rights from mere self-interest, focusing instead on mutual respect and assistance.

  • His ideas heavily influenced the American Declaration of Independence (1776).

    • Declaration emphasizes unalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Revolutionary Thought

• Thomas Paine (1737–1809)

  • Advocates for the individual's right to consent to governance.

  • His writings influenced subsequent human rights documents, including the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789).

• Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

  • Proposes civil disobedience in response to unjust laws influencing civil rights movements.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

• Key Goals and Provisions

  • Established foundational rights for all individuals, emphasizing freedom from oppression and the right to dignity.

  • Rights divided into civil/political and economic/social/cultural categories.

• Recognizes rights to life, liberty, security, education, and freedom from torture.

• Challenges and Critiques

  • Pushback from various cultures and traditions, particularly in Islam, viewing human rights as secularized Judeo-Christian ethics.

  • Tensions between different rights claims, such as freedom of speech vs. public safety.

Justice and Ethical Frameworks

• Two Dimensions of Justice

  • Distributive Justice

    • Theories of Just Desert

      • Based on merit, need, or contribution to society.

    • Equality of Treatment

      • Legal equality and equal distribution of resources as key principles.

• John Rawls’ Theory of Justice (A Theory of Justice, 1971)

  • Introduces the “original position” and the “veil of ignorance” to establish principles of justice as fairness.

  • Proposes two key principles:

    1. Equal basic liberties for all.

    2. Social and economic inequalities are permissible only if they benefit the least advantaged.

• Robert Nozick’s Entitlement Theory

  • Critiques patterns of distribution imposed by societal constructs, advocating for individuals' rights to their legally acquired possessions.

Complexity of Contemporary Ethical Debates

• Teleological vs. Deontological Ethics

  • Explores tensions between outcome-focused (teleological) and duty-focused (deontological) ethical approaches.

• Recognition of Excluded Groups

  • Recent ethical reflections emphasize those historically excluded from societal benefits, highlighting the need for equitable treatment and justice.