The concept of human rights: orthodox or political?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18593/ejjl.19725Keywords:
Human Rights, Concept, Orthodox Conception, Political ConceptionAbstract
What are human rights? What makes them different from other moral, juridical and political considerations? In this essay, the authors bring a literature review of this conceptual question through a comparative analysis of the newly formed dichotomy in the international academy between orthodox and political conceptions of human rights. According to the former, human rights are moral rights possessed by all humans simply in virtue of their shared humanity. To the latter, their nature is best conceived in light of their functions in the international juridical-political order. Parts 1 and 2 present two influential formulations of each view, respectively, James Griffin and John Tasioulas’, and Charles Beitz and Joseph Raz’s. Part 3, on its turn, covers the debate between them, more specifically, the critiques formulated against one another, as well as the merit of the so-called mixed or conciliatory conceptions.
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