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A justification for rights
Bibliography: p. 217-224.
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Philosophy
2015
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| _version_ | 1867613275862073344 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Benatar, David |
| author2 | Meyerson, Denise |
| author_browse | Benatar, David Meyerson, Denise |
| author_facet | Meyerson, Denise Benatar, David |
| author_sort | Benatar, David |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Bibliography: p. 217-224. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/13413 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:33:33.643Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publishDateRange | 2015 |
| publishDateSort | 2015 |
| publisher | Department of Philosophy |
| publisherStr | Department of Philosophy |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/13413 A justification for rights Benatar, David Meyerson, Denise Philosophy Bibliography: p. 217-224. This thesis provides an argument in favour of there being natural rights. Such rights are rights which creatures necessarily have in virtue of their nature alone. These are to be distinguished from non-natural rights which may or may not be acquired. It is argued that natural rights possess three features: (1) they have correlative duties; (2) they have great strength; and (3) they are exclusively negative. It is argued further that that the strength of some natural rights must be absolute. One chapter is devoted to arguing against the justifications for rights advanced by Immanuel Kant, Alan Gewirth and John Rawls. Another chapter shows that the problem with utilitarianism is that it cannot satisfactorily accommodate rights. This thesis claims that morality must be connected to well-being and that well-being should be understood objectively rather than subjectively. Further, it advances the view that since individuals, rather than societies or temporal stages of individuals, are the morally significant units of existence, morality should be connected to the well-being of individuals. It is then argued that a moral tool possessing the features which absolute natural rights possess is essential to moor morality to individual well-being. Given the great strength of absolute rights, they must protect only the most important objective interests an individual subject has and they must protect against only the most severe violations of these interests. Various scales of harm to the individual are envisaged, including scales of pain, injury and restriction of liberty. The view is advanced that absolute rights come into existence at a particular threshold on these scales, absolutely protecting the individual from having to make a sacrifice of that degree or greater. Although absolute natural rights have this important function they I are not seen as being the only principles on the moral landscape or even the only nonderivative ones. A few chapters are devoted to applying the theory to a number of questions, including what absolute rights there are and what creatures have rights. The thesis also answers a number of common criticisms of natural rights. 2015-07-14T08:39:53Z 2015-07-14T08:39:53Z 1992 Doctoral Thesis Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13413 eng application/pdf Department of Philosophy Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Philosophy Benatar, David A justification for rights |
| thesis_degree_str | Doctoral |
| title | A justification for rights |
| title_full | A justification for rights |
| title_fullStr | A justification for rights |
| title_full_unstemmed | A justification for rights |
| title_short | A justification for rights |
| title_sort | justification for rights |
| topic | Philosophy |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13413 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT benatardavid ajustificationforrights AT benatardavid justificationforrights |