Political Science 3388E Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Legal Positivism, Individualism, Practical Reason
17 Dec 2017
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If human rights are not shared by all (only by healthy, fully functioning, non violating adult humans), then it loses the universality and equality aspect, stripping the legitimacy of the entire movement: justification of forfeiture of rights. Biological humanity idea that humanity grants us our human rights on the most basic level. Strength: clear and uncontested necessary condition for being a human rights holder is to be a living human being: excludes the dead and future generations (non-existent) and animals. Human treatment : value-laden term, core code of conduct to which every living human is duty-bound. Morality is not a biological product: constructed socially by shared responses of our biology, knowledge of each others and values of what constitutes a worthwhile existence necessary, but not sufficient. Metaphysical humanity important property shared by al that is above or beyond the physical, existence of substance with dignified regard, such as a soul or being a child of.
