Rights discourse I Flashcards
What does liberals argue
state should not impose on a citizens way of life, leave them as free as possible to choose their own values and ends
Why should a state not impose on its citizens according to John Mills
reduce the sum of human happiness. It is based on the principle of greatest good for greatest number
How does utilitarianism suit liberal principles
does not judge person’s values, just aggregates them
why is utiliarian principle inadeqaute
majority view does not secure individual rights
contemporary liberals argument against utilitarianism
to maximise general welfare, it treats society as a whole. Conflates diverse desires into a single system of desires to be maximised. Indifferent to distribution of satisfactions amongst persons except how it may affect the overall sum
Kantian liberals need an account of rights that does not
depend on utilitarian considerations
depend on particular conceptions of good, does not presuppose way of life over others
must be neutral about ends
What at Kantian liberals commited to
Why?
framework that is neutral among ends
does not affirm a preferred way of life or conception of the good
How is right prior to goods for Kantian liberals
- Individual rights cannot be sacrificed for general good
- principles of justice that specify these rights cannot specify any vision of good life
How is right prior to goods for Kantian liberals
what justifies these rights
provides fair framework which individuals and groups can choose their own values and ends
Proponents of rights based ethic notoriously
disagree about what rights are fundamental
what political arrangements the ideal of the neutral framework requires
Egaliatarian liberals
support welfare state and favour a scheme of civil liberties together with certain social and economic rights - rights to welfare, educaration, healthcare
Libertarian liberals defend
They favour
the market economy and claim that redistributive policies violate people’s rights
a scheme of civli liberties combined with private property rights
Common to all liberalism is the claim that
we are separate individual persons each with our own aims, interests and conceptions of the good and seeks a framework of rights that will enable us to realise our capacity as free moral agents
Hegel against Kant - communitarianism critique
political arrangements must be justified by common ends and purposes
we cannot receive our personhood without reference to our role as citizens and as participants common life
Desires
Utilitarian v Kant
Conflates desires into single system
Kant insists separateness of person
Self
Utiliarianism vs Kant
sum of its desires
choosing self, independent of the desires and ends it may have at any moment
Priority of self over ends
Never defined by aims, always can assess and possibly revise aims
free, independent self, capable of choice
why do we need a neutral framework
b/c we are separate, independent selves since thsi fraemwork does not choose between competing purposes and ends.
Self is prior to ends, right is prior to good
Communicatarian critics of rights-based liberalism say we are
our roles in society makes up who we are. e.g. citizens, members of movement
if we are determined by communities we inhabit then
we must also be implicated the purpose and ends of the community
on communitarianism view, what does our membership in community give us
moral particularity
Public education support by liberals and communitarianism
- students to become autonomous individuals capacble of choosing their own ends
- become good citizens, contribute meaningfully to public deliberations
Different policies
pornographycommunitarinism
ban porn bookstores b/c it affects way of life and value
for liberals politics of common good
creates prejudice and intolerance
Liberal Rights’
Rights are typically seen as the moral or legal requirements which secure the conditions for individuals to exercise freedom or autonomy; rights can be conceptualised as allowing individuals to make the key choices which give meaning and purpose to their lives, to ‘live their lives from the inside’
‘Liberal rights’ have been justified by
1) mistrust of government;
(2) the dangers of paternalism;
(3) the belief that individuals are capable of revising their conceptions of what the good life is and the ends they want to pursue; and
(4) ownership of self-chosen purposes endows them with value.
The interest theory of rights: Advocates of the interests theory approach argue that the principal function of human rights is
protect and promote certain essential human interests. Securing human beings’ essential interests is the principal ground upon which human rights may be morally justified
Interest theory of rights and duties
Your having a right to something means that it is in your interest, or is to your benefit, and someone else has a duty to provide
right is the same thing as being the beneficiary of the performance of another person’s duty.
interest theory example
Someone would have a right to something (x), against a second person, if that person had a legal duty to provide the first person with x. For example, on Bentham’s interest theory, you have a right to vote if someone is legally required to provide you with the opportunity to vote, and count your ballot, and so on
The will theory, also known as the “choice theory,” allows
allows rights-holders free choice to insist upon their rights, or to waive them.
example of choice theory
your right to some land is your freedom to do with it as you wish. Everyone is wrong to interfere with your freedom unless they have a right. If someone uses your land without having a right, you are free to allow it, or to choose to prevent it by claiming the protection of your right to legal authorities.
Choice theory
Rights give people control over
other people’s freedom
If I have a right, then the extent of other people’s freedom depends on my choices.
liberlism
states
states should interfere as little as possible
Utilitarianism moral theory
Utilitarianism broadly states that a moral action is one that maximizes happiness for the greatest number of people
core assumptions of utilitarianism are that
individual actions must be tailored to maximize the happiness of the whole, regardless of their effect on the welfare of particular individuals
happiness for liberalist
no such thing as the happiness of the whole, and that it is up to each of us to make his own happiness, according to his own lights.
criticism of utilitarianism for freedom
lose freedom for greater good
states liberalism
can be seen as threats and enforcing and protecting individual rights
when is something of value for utilitarnism
it is useful or promotes happiness—they argued that the object of all legislation should be “the greatest happiness of the greatest number.”
utilitarinism stems from
18th- and 19th-century English philosophers and economists
John Mills and Jeremy Bentham
Gov policy
utilitarianism
government should chose policies to maximize the total utility of everyone in society.
What problems arise when seeking “the Greatest good for the greatest number”?
In a society where only the masses are considered, minorities may be suppressed and not addressed.
Classical liberalism is committed to
the ideal of limited government, constitutionalism, rule of law, due process, and liberty of individuals (freedom of speech etc), based in idea of reason and ethics of individualism and with a laissez-faire economy.
What Did benthem think of rights
he called natural rights nonse on stilts
How have some utilitrianism became unliberal
Liberals argue this show majoritarian behavouir as it could lead to the tyranny of the minority
Why has utilitrianism adopted some majoritarian arguements
IT uses the idea of happiness of “The greates number” this allows the intrests of the majority to out rule to minority
liberals have believed that most people are
rational/self interested
The liberal view of human nature holds that people in general
use their reason to control and direct their desires AND are more likely to act out of self-interest than out of concern for others
Four strengths of utilitarianism?
Treats everyone as equals
Easy to think about what makes people happy
It can be applied to all times and society and is flexible enough to do that
Empirical - based on what we can see in our world
What are the criticisms of Bentham’s utilitarianism?
Cannot quantify happiness, purely subjective
Different kinds of happiness, some better than others
Allows people to be irrresponsible or do unethical acts if they have the majority behind them.
Minorities have no rights, using people as means to an ends
Ignores the moral relationships we have with other people
happiness as a whole for utilitarnism
happiness of the whole is all that matters; race, gender and ethnicity don’t matter
objection to utilitarnism
Violates distinctness of persons, may condone human rights violations, overly demanding and overly simplistic
One of the problems raised against utilitarianism concerns justice.
If an unjust act promotes more utility than a just act, utilitarianism seems to say the unjust act is the right act.
Which of the following are raised as objections to utilitarianism?
Violating a person’s rights might promote the greatest good for the greatest number
Enslaving a small minority might promote the greatest good for the greatest number.
Punishing the innocent might promote the greatest good for the greatest number
individualism
the individual is the key to all human existence, humanity is set apart from other living beings because we possess self-awareness, personality, capabilities and free will to decide our fate
Freedom
Only in a state of liberty are people able to realize their true potential. People should be free from restrictions, unless they are designed to safeguard the freedom of others.
Liberal views on human nature:
1) Innate qualities are not a result of social circumstances.
2) Uniqueness of each individual
3) Every human is free and equal
4) Humans are considered to be rational, reasoning beings
5) Humans are capable of personal self-development
6) Humans are capable of being self-interested, greedy and power-seeking
Hume’s law
Why can’t matters of fact define moral judgement?
listing facts of a thing cannot determine if it is right or wrong
Moral skepticism
Any position which denies that there exist true moral statements
Moral Reasoning
the manner in which an individual makes decisions based on the determination of what is right and wrong
