Inspired by a 1988 trip to El Salvador, Michael J. Perry's new book is a personal and scholarly exploration of the idea of human rights. Perry is one of our nation's leading authorities on the relation of morality, including religious morality, to politics and law. He seeks, in this book, to disentangle the complex idea of human rights by way of four probing and interrelat Inspired by a 1988 trip to El Salvador, Michael J. Perry's new book is a personal and scholarly exploration of the idea of human rights. Perry is one of our nation's leading authorities on the relation of morality, including religious morality, to politics and law. He seeks, in this book, to disentangle the complex idea of human rights by way of four probing and interrelated essays. * The initial essay, which is animated by Perry's skepticism about the capacity of any secular morality to offer a coherent account of the idea of human rights, suggests that the first part of the idea of human rights--the premise that every human being is "sacred" or "inviolable"--is inescapably religious. * Responding to recent criticism of "rights talk", Perry explicates, in his second essay, the meaning and value of talk about human rights. * In his third essay, Perry asks a fundamental question about human rights: Are they universal? In addressing this question, he disaggregates and criticizes several different varieties of "moral relativism" and then considers the implications of these different relativist positions for claims about human rights. * Perry turns to another fundamental question about human rights in his final essay: Are they absolute? He concludes that even if no human rights, understood as moral rights, are absolute or unconditional, some human rights, understood as international legal rights, are--and indeed, should be--absolute. In the introduction, Perry writes: "Of all the influential--indeed, formative--moral ideas to take center stage in the twentieth century, like democracy and socialism, the idea of human rights (which, again, in one form or another, is an old idea) is, for many, the most difficult. It is the most difficult in the sense that it is, for many, the hardest of the great moral ideas to integrate, the hardest to square, with the reigning intellectual assumptions of the age, especially what Bernard Williams has called 'Nietzsche's thought': 'There is not only no God, but no metaphysical order of any kind....' For those who accept 'Nietzsche's thought', can the idea of human rights possibly be more than a kind of aesthetic preference? In a culture in which it was widely believed that there is no God or metaphysical order of any kind, on what basis, if any, could the idea of human rights long survive?" The Idea of Human Rights: Four Inquiries will appeal to students of many disciplines, including (but not limited to) law, philosophy, religion, and politics.
The Idea of Human Rights: Four Inquiries
Inspired by a 1988 trip to El Salvador, Michael J. Perry's new book is a personal and scholarly exploration of the idea of human rights. Perry is one of our nation's leading authorities on the relation of morality, including religious morality, to politics and law. He seeks, in this book, to disentangle the complex idea of human rights by way of four probing and interrelat Inspired by a 1988 trip to El Salvador, Michael J. Perry's new book is a personal and scholarly exploration of the idea of human rights. Perry is one of our nation's leading authorities on the relation of morality, including religious morality, to politics and law. He seeks, in this book, to disentangle the complex idea of human rights by way of four probing and interrelated essays. * The initial essay, which is animated by Perry's skepticism about the capacity of any secular morality to offer a coherent account of the idea of human rights, suggests that the first part of the idea of human rights--the premise that every human being is "sacred" or "inviolable"--is inescapably religious. * Responding to recent criticism of "rights talk", Perry explicates, in his second essay, the meaning and value of talk about human rights. * In his third essay, Perry asks a fundamental question about human rights: Are they universal? In addressing this question, he disaggregates and criticizes several different varieties of "moral relativism" and then considers the implications of these different relativist positions for claims about human rights. * Perry turns to another fundamental question about human rights in his final essay: Are they absolute? He concludes that even if no human rights, understood as moral rights, are absolute or unconditional, some human rights, understood as international legal rights, are--and indeed, should be--absolute. In the introduction, Perry writes: "Of all the influential--indeed, formative--moral ideas to take center stage in the twentieth century, like democracy and socialism, the idea of human rights (which, again, in one form or another, is an old idea) is, for many, the most difficult. It is the most difficult in the sense that it is, for many, the hardest of the great moral ideas to integrate, the hardest to square, with the reigning intellectual assumptions of the age, especially what Bernard Williams has called 'Nietzsche's thought': 'There is not only no God, but no metaphysical order of any kind....' For those who accept 'Nietzsche's thought', can the idea of human rights possibly be more than a kind of aesthetic preference? In a culture in which it was widely believed that there is no God or metaphysical order of any kind, on what basis, if any, could the idea of human rights long survive?" The Idea of Human Rights: Four Inquiries will appeal to students of many disciplines, including (but not limited to) law, philosophy, religion, and politics.
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Jesse Kessler –
This book starts with a bang, and goes out with a fizzle. The intro is excellent, exciting, and clear. The rest felt belaboured. Maybe that was the plan though. In any case, here is what I found valuable, perhaps with a little extrapolation of my own in language: There is no coherent objective basis for human dignity (and therefore universal human rights) from a secular perspective. Nietzsche declared this, and nobody has shown cohesive evidence otherwise. As humans, we have a tradition of consider This book starts with a bang, and goes out with a fizzle. The intro is excellent, exciting, and clear. The rest felt belaboured. Maybe that was the plan though. In any case, here is what I found valuable, perhaps with a little extrapolation of my own in language: There is no coherent objective basis for human dignity (and therefore universal human rights) from a secular perspective. Nietzsche declared this, and nobody has shown cohesive evidence otherwise. As humans, we have a tradition of considering certain groups as less than "truely" human, and this leads to all kinds of "crimes against humanity" again and again throughout history; even very recent history. This degradation of the value of human life might sound distant, or obviously wrong, but is an ever real threat in every society. As we make, revise, and interpret laws which are based on a seemingly unfounded assumption of human dignity, there is a need to be honest and explicit in our dialogue. Perhaps at the center of this discussion is article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights regarding the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; especially since Perry argues that the inviolability of human life is an inescapably religious principle.
Lien –
I'm slightly unsure on how to properly rate/critique a piece that isn't fiction or a creative work, but I'll do my best. I read this book for a human rights course, and as a student, I found that the questions Michael Perry brought up were fundamental to building a foundation of any theory of human rights. However, sometimes the points he made when addressing the questions were difficult to follow because he repeated himself quite a bit. I also disagreed with his stance in the first chapter ("Is I'm slightly unsure on how to properly rate/critique a piece that isn't fiction or a creative work, but I'll do my best. I read this book for a human rights course, and as a student, I found that the questions Michael Perry brought up were fundamental to building a foundation of any theory of human rights. However, sometimes the points he made when addressing the questions were difficult to follow because he repeated himself quite a bit. I also disagreed with his stance in the first chapter ("Is the Idea of Human Rights Ineliminably Religious?"). His view is very biased in the beginning (and he does address it), but he does make some good points (when you understand them). In general, my rating is based on the execution/way it was written more than the actual content. I will add, however, that about a third of this book is footnotes/citations, so while it is clear that he did his research, I do question the originality of the work.
Carolyn –
It took a long time to work through Mr Perry’s Four Inquiries but unfortunately I can not say that I feel enlightened. Although his work is well-researched and well-documented, his prose lacks clarity. He fails to cut to the heart of the matter: only societies founded on the bedrock of Judeo-Christian norms guard (however imperfectly) the value of all individuals in contrast to other cultures that deny as a matter of course the most basic rights to individuals based on gender, ethnicity, sect, c It took a long time to work through Mr Perry’s Four Inquiries but unfortunately I can not say that I feel enlightened. Although his work is well-researched and well-documented, his prose lacks clarity. He fails to cut to the heart of the matter: only societies founded on the bedrock of Judeo-Christian norms guard (however imperfectly) the value of all individuals in contrast to other cultures that deny as a matter of course the most basic rights to individuals based on gender, ethnicity, sect, creed, etc. Perhaps the starkest example Is the Asian cultural preference for male children resulting in sex selective abortion or female infanticide, but there are numerous other examples.
Sally –
Many interesting points in this well-argued book, though I don't agree with him that there is no sufficient account or justification for universal human rights in any secular morality. Many interesting points in this well-argued book, though I don't agree with him that there is no sufficient account or justification for universal human rights in any secular morality.
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