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On the justification of rights

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Philosophy of action / Philosophie de l’action

Part of the book series: Contemporary philosophy / La philosophie contemporaine ((COPH,volume 3))

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Abstract

The concept of rights, long a staple of political thought, has undergone a revival since the Second World War and has again been subject to critical examination by philosophers. Indeed, the dozen or so years from 1966 to the present have seen an unusual number of important studies in the theory of rights. This philosophical interest has coincided with an increased awareness of rights, and their problematic character, both in the national political arena and in the world of international affairs. Witness the various rights movements of the sixties and seventies and the passage of civil rights legislation, with attendant judicial and bureaucratic monitoring, on the domestic side; internationally we have had the two United Nations Covenants (1966, entered into force 1976), the Helsinki agreement, the recent Belgrade and Madrid conferences, the rights movement in Socialist states, and of course the Carter administration’s expressed concern for human rights.

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  1. University of Kansas, USA

    Rex Martin

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  1. University of Oslo, Norway

    Guttorm Fløistad

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Martin, R. (1982). On the justification of rights. In: Fløistad, G. (eds) Philosophy of action / Philosophie de l’action. Contemporary philosophy / La philosophie contemporaine, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-3948-7_7

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