Transcript Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice Jack Donnelly

Universal Human Rights in
Theory and Practice
Jack Donnelly--SE
Prepared by:
Dr. Caroline (Kay) Picart
Assistant Professor of English and
Humanities
Courtesy Assistant Professor of Law
Aims


To examine what does
it mean to have a right
To analyze, even at a
preliminary level, how
does being human
give rise to rights?
Question:
In what two senses/contexts do we use the
word “right”?
Question

According to
Donnelly, what are the
three distinct forms of
social interaction that
involve rights?
Question

What are the special
features of a “human
right”?
Questions

Why are human rights
“self-liquidating” and
“extra-legal”?
Question

What is the source of
human rights?
Question

In what ways are
human rights a selffulfilling prophecy?
Questions


Who are the subjects
of human rights?
How are these subjects
implicitly
characterized?
The Subjects of Human Rights


Donnelly argues that
only individuals, not
collective groups, have
human rights.
Do you agree or
disagree and why?
Discussion Question


Donnelly writes: “It is
individuals, not groups,
that have rights to food,
health care, work, social
security, due process,
freedom of the press,
protection against
discrimination . . .” (p. 20)
Assess the strengths and
weaknesses of this
argument.
Question

What is Donnelly’s
model for explaining
human rights in
relation to human
nature?
Questions



List as many rights as
you can that are part
of the International
Bill of Human Rights
Discuss the
implications of these
rights
How is the human
body envisaged
through these rights?
The Status of Economic/Social
Rights
Economic/social rights are neither
universal, practical, nor of paramount
importance and “belong to a different
logical category” . . . –that is, they are not
truly human rights. (p. 31)
 Do you agree? Why or why not?

Question
“All human rights require both positive
action and restraint on the part of the state.
Furthermore, whether a right is relatively
positive or negative usually depends on
historically contingent circumstances.”
 Give examples.

Question

Do “negative” civil and political rights
deserve higher priority than “positive”
economic and social rights?
Question

Is there such a thing as
a “basic right”?
Question


How does Donnelly
assess these lists?
Do you agree or
disagree and why?
Question

According to
Donnelly, what are
some of the problems
in linking foreign
policy with human
rights?
Activity

What human rights are
implicitly
acknowledged by the
Nazi propaganda
short, The Fuehrer
Gives a City to the
Jews?
Source:

Donnelly, Jack. Universal Human Rights in
Theory and Practice. Ithaca, NY: Cornell
University Press, 1989.