6. Human Rights, Natural Rights, and Human Dignity-7. Personal Deserts and Human Rights推荐.pdf

6 Human Rights, Natural Rights, and Human Dignity A. John Simmons I. Foundations for Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), in its preamble, famously rec- ognizes “the inherent dignity . . . and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family.” And it suggests in Article 1 an intimate relationship between human dignity and human rights: “All human beings are born free and equal in dig- nity and rights.” The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) appears to identify a more precise relationship between these ideas, suggesting that the human rights it names “derive from the inherent dignity of the human person.” Such claims, of course, suggest the possible appropriateness of a certain sort of philo- sophical project, a sort of project that has not been uncommon in the literature on human rights. Begin by analyzing the idea of inherent human dignity, possessed equally by all. Then show how the moral importance of human dignity can serve as a foundation—or at least as a more basic ground—for a set of universal moral rights for human beings. Finally, determine which specific human rights are implied by this foundation. The resulting list of moral human rights might then be compared to the Declaration’s list, or to some other list containing more recent additions from other important documents. We could then affirm these lists, correct them (by subtraction, by addition, or both), or simply note (and possibly try to explain or justify) any differ- ences between our well-grounded set of moral human rights and the positive rights affirmed in human rights law. A related, but more historically based (and equally familiar) philosophical pro- ject might also be suggested by the