EURO ST 10 Lecture Notes - Lecture 27: Natural And Legal Rights, French Revolution
Document Summary
Declaration of the rights of man and citizen. Declares the universality of human rights,but also serves to delimit the special realm of human beings within a state. The declaration took on quasi-mythical status as the founding document of the new order. What is the function of the declaration. Should be constantly before all the members. A unifying document that should serve as a basis of comparison for any acts of government. Recall the intimate bond of all frenchmen in the nation. Example - based on the exclusions it built into its universality. Man is born free, yet is everywhere in chains. Man is born free, yet is everywhere in chains . Men are born and remain free and equal in rights . Ignorance, neglect, or contempt of the rights of man are the sole cause of public calamities . Freedom of speech - kant : public reason . Sovereignty of the law defined by the general will .
