The universal human rights concept and its roots in Western political thought

Type :

Presentation

Pages :

4 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

01/15/2009

Category :

Philosophy & literature

Sub category :

Humanities/philosophy

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Summary :

Introduction.
The cultural relativist model.
1. Community: Basic social unit.
2. The book Human rights and International Relations.
The doctrine of cultural relativism.
China's focus on community and obligations.
The claim that human rights are universal.
Questioning the legitimacy of each human rights theory.
1. The liberal theory of human rights.
2. The Bangkok principle.
3. Richard Rorty's proposal for a solution.
Conclusion.
Bibliography.

Abstract

Commitment to the idea of cultural relativism is usually seen as precluding the acceptance of the idea of universal human rights. But is relativism against universalism a false dichotomy? Can we construct a "differentiated universalism" or a "non-ethnocentric universalism"? The doctrine of cultural relativism is based on the existence of different cultures which have produced different values. In this acceptance, universality of human rights does not exist, and this theory is nothing but a myth created by the West as a mean of pressure against the other States. Yet, a characteristic part of the claim that there are such things as human rights has been that they are universal, and that they are not subject to change over time, since they express the essential nature of human beings. One will focus on the controversy which exists between those who advocate for human rights relativism and those who support the idea of a universality of the latter, by trying to weigh each argument.