1st Edition

Theories of Rights

Edited By C.L. Ten Copyright 2006

    To those who invoke them, rights are powerful instruments for settling arguments in favour of the right-holders. But the nature, provenance and justification of rights are uncertain and disputed and there are doubts about whether rights should play a distinctive and fundamental role in moral and political discourse. More recent disgreements have centred on group rights and on whether rights have a universal application across different cultures and moral traditions. These and other related issues are explored in depth by the essays in this volume, which are mostly drawn from a wide range of journals in philosophy, politics and law.

    Contents: Recent work on the concept of rights, Rex Martin and James W. Nickel; In defence of moral rights, Joel Feinberg; On the nature of rights, J. Raz; Are there natural rights?, H.L.A. Hart; Rights, claimants, and beneficiaries, David Lyons; 2 concepts of rights, Philip Montague; A right to do wrong, Jeremy Waldron; Rights in conflict, Jeremy Waldron; Conflicts of rights: typology, Methodology, and nonconsequentialism, F.N. Kamm; Natural rights: Bentham and John Stuart Mill, H.L.A. Hart; Rights, goals, and fairness, T.M. Scanlon; Is there a right to pornography?, Ronald Dworkin; A defense of rights to well-being, Rodney Peffer; Between utility and rights, H.L.A. Hart ; What's so special about rights?, Allen Buchanan; Against rights, Richard J. Arneson; Group rights and group oppression, Peter Jones; The good the bad, and the intolerable, Will Kymlicka; Liberal rights and/or Confucian virtues?, Seung-hwan Lee; 'Asian values' and global human rights, Fred Dallmyr; A world consensus on human rights?, Charles Taylor; Minimalism about human rights: the most we can hope for?, Joshua Cohen; Index.

    Biography

    Ten Chin Lew is Professor of Philosophy and Head of the Philosophy Department at the National University of Singapore, Singapore.

    '..academics news to the field or readers who experience obstacles in accessing journals will appreciate this easy-to-manage selection.' Political Studies Review