week 4: natural law and human rights

Question 1

describe the Euthyphro problem

Answer 1

• are just actions just because the gods approve of them or do the gods approve of them because they are just?
• religious expert
• natural rights: we are owed certain things in virtue of our nature

Question 2

describe the divine and command theory

Answer 2

• things are right or wrong based on whether they are commanded by god
• voluntarism: morality depends on divine will
  
  • Socrates questions this view (naturalist objection): things are right/wrong based on their intrinsic nature

Question 3

describe legality vs morality

Answer 3

• legality = what the law prescribes
• morality = what morality prescribes
• what should be the relationship between law and morality?
  
  • the problem of wicked legal systems ex: legal slavery
• something can be legal but immoral

Question 4

describe the descriptive and prescriptive side of the concept of law

Answer 4

• descriptive = describes certain types of actions, directs us in a certain way
  
  • law is a guide/measure, directive, and teaching function
• prescriptive = law commands us

Question 5

describe natural law, the rule of law, and positive law

Answer 5

• natural law: human nature itseld shows that certain actions are morally right tor wrong
  
  • in human nature itself, there is a moral nature
  • based on human nature
  • limit positive law
  • universal
  • if positive law permits natural law, then it’s not a law
• rule of law: everyone, including civil authorities are subject to law
  
  • if we share in the common the same nature, then we all share the same law
• positive law: any law enacted by civil authorities
  
  • created by human legal legal systems (particular to different times/places)

Question 6

describe the two views of how the natural law constrains the positive law

Answer 6

2 ways:

• substantive natural law: the natural law directly shapes the content of the positive law
  
  • critique the content of the law (ex: how theft is ok)
• procedural natural law: the natural law shapes the formation of the positive law
  
  • critique the process (ex: no written deadlines)
  • law needs to be shared
  • law is not transparent/constantly shifting

Question 7

describe Aquinas and Natural Law

Answer 7

• law is an ordinance of reason for the common good, made by one who has care if the community, and promulgated
  
  • law is something that we discover to our reason/nature of our world around us
• natural law is contained within human nature
  
  • positive - law can guide us to what we have to do
  • permissive - things that are ok/not ok to do
  • negative senses - what we should not do
  • what is bad for the community will be prohibited
• knowledge of natural law - innate principles and judgement
  
  • we discover these principles, what is in our nature

Question 8

describe natural and legal rights

Answer 8

• natural rights = rights that we have in virtue of being human and are universal (universal declaration of human rights)
  
  • serve as a constraint on government and guide the codification of legal rights
• legal rights = rights that are determined by the state and codified in law (may not be universal)
  
  • positive rights

Question 9

describe inalienable vs alienable (objective vs subjective rights)

Answer 9

• inalienable = cannot be separated from you (human rights)
• alienable = can be separated by you (contract rights)

Question 10

describe Human Rights

Answer 10

• thinner conception of human nature
• finding commonality in the midst of plurality
• convergences and divergences between modern human rights movement and natural law and natural rights tradition
  
  • based on the thick concept of human nature
  • very rich in detail
  • culturally specific
  • lacks common agreement in a pluralistic society
  • people have different beliefs
• challenge of securing practical agreement in the midst of theoretical disagreemnt about the foundations of human rights
  
  • finding a common ground in the midst of different opinions/beliefs
  • we all agree on what we should do/respect, even though the underlying reason may be different

Question 11

describe gentrification and demoviction

Answer 11

• gentrification = higher income population replaces lower income population
• demoviction = leads to displacement of people and fewer rental places = rent increases

Question 12

describe Appiah and Human Rights

Answer 12

• gives us a common language
• declarative vs substantive commitments to human rights
  
  • saying something is a right is not enough, it is also how we act on the right (has to respect it)
• pluralism and discursive approach to human rights
• rights and resistance to coercion and oppression

Question 13

describe capabilities and rights

Answer 13

• the capabilities approach to human development deals with comparative quality-of-rlife assessments with a concern for social justice and human rights
• capabilities are opportunities to choose and act in various areas of importance to human life
• the capability approach looks not just at the end state of development but also at the process of that development