The Philosophy of Human Rights
The philosophy of human rights
Rights and the Human Person Rights are due to a man, precisely because he is a person and, therefore, possessing worth and dignity. Man is not merely a piece of matter, a robot, a tool, a bundle of drives, or a meaningless question mark as some philosophers would reduce him to. He is a person, he has the power to think, judge, and reason (CONSCIENCE); he is the master of himself and of his actions; he has a supreme purpose which transcends this life. From the Christian viewpoint, he is of infinite value because he is made to the image and likeness of GOD, being endowed with an immortal soul destined for everlasting life with GOD.
By virtue then of his human nature (or by virtue of the natural law), by virtue of his supreme worth and dignity as a person, man is the subject (DUER) of rights and possesses rights.
Thus, since man is born and destined by nature to attain his purpose (TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH God), man has the right to live and work out his destiny. Thus, since he is a creature, he has the right to worship his Creator in accordance with the dictates of his conscience. Thus, since he is by nature a social being, he has the natural right to have and support a family, to a place in society, and so forth.
Importance of the Doctrine of Human Rights The moral doctrine of the dignity of man and his consequent rights is extremely important to the social order; for as we shall show later. It is this very principle of human rights which determines and defines the proper relations that should exist among members of society; as for example the relations between the individual citizen and the state, between employer and employee, landlord and tenant, and even between parents and children in a family. In industrial ethics, involving capital and labor relations, for instance, there is a question as to how the employer should treat his workers? The answer is derived from the doctrine of human rights; that the working man is
Rights and the Human Person Rights are due to a man, precisely because he is a person and, therefore, possessing worth and dignity. Man is not merely a piece of matter, a robot, a tool, a bundle of drives, or a meaningless question mark as some philosophers would reduce him to. He is a person, he has the power to think, judge, and reason (CONSCIENCE); he is the master of himself and of his actions; he has a supreme purpose which transcends this life. From the Christian viewpoint, he is of infinite value because he is made to the image and likeness of GOD, being endowed with an immortal soul destined for everlasting life with GOD.
By virtue then of his human nature (or by virtue of the natural law), by virtue of his supreme worth and dignity as a person, man is the subject (DUER) of rights and possesses rights.
Thus, since man is born and destined by nature to attain his purpose (TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH God), man has the right to live and work out his destiny. Thus, since he is a creature, he has the right to worship his Creator in accordance with the dictates of his conscience. Thus, since he is by nature a social being, he has the natural right to have and support a family, to a place in society, and so forth.
Importance of the Doctrine of Human Rights The moral doctrine of the dignity of man and his consequent rights is extremely important to the social order; for as we shall show later. It is this very principle of human rights which determines and defines the proper relations that should exist among members of society; as for example the relations between the individual citizen and the state, between employer and employee, landlord and tenant, and even between parents and children in a family. In industrial ethics, involving capital and labor relations, for instance, there is a question as to how the employer should treat his workers? The answer is derived from the doctrine of human rights; that the working man is