Why Human Rights?: A Philosophical Guide [Hardcover]

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.

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.??

What are universal human rights?  Can they be justified?  In this highly engaging, powerfully argued, wide-ranging book, Eric Blumenson provides a superb overview of the relevant philosophical issues and develops trenchant critiques of competing philosophical views. For scholars and students interested in the theoretical foundations of universal human rights, this book is replete with penetrating insights and is also a true pleasure to read.Kenneth W. Simons, University of California, Irvine

Whether or not you have pondered the issue of human rights, Eric Blumensons book is for you. In this remarkable work, Blumenson surveys and critiques the major schools of philosophical thought and then puts forth his own powerful synthesis.  Howard Gardner, Harvard University

In this remarkable book, Blumenson tackles the hard questions surrounding human rights and universality,lƒÈ