Why Human Rights?

Why Human Rights addresses universal human rights as moral mandates - rights to justice that all persons have by virtue of their humanity alone. This book explores the case for these foundational claims along with other philosophical controversies pertaining to human rights.

Eric Blumenson is a Research Professor at Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts. He writes in the fields of international human rights, criminal law, and moral philosophy.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS; INTRODUCTION; PART 1: UNIVERSALITY, RELATIVISM, AND DIVERSITY: Chapter 1. How are human rights universal?; Chapter 2. Relativist objections; Chapter 3. Diversity and indeterminacy; Chapter 4. The limits of skepticism; PART II: HUMAN EQUALITY AND MORAL HIERARCHIES: Chapter 5. Human moral equality: the claim and its challenges; Chapter 6. Theories of moral considerability; PART III: INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND COLLECTIVE INTERESTS: Chapter 7. The domain of rights; Chapter 8. Justifying rights; Chapter 9. Liberty, equality, and community: complements or competitors?; Appendix A; Appendix B; Appendix C; REFERENCES; NOTES; INDEX.