Introduction to Ethics

Man holding an award for Human Savior of the Week.

Photo: Colleen Hayes / NBC.

The hallmark of Deontological approaches are constraints that limit how we may treat each other. Now many Deontologists believe that such constraints are the natural consequence of respecting the rights of others. But what is a right? What does it mean to have one? Who is obligated to respect them? What must they do to respect them? In this module, we will consider such questions, which in turn, will raise even more questions!

In doing all that, we have three learning outcomes. At the end of this module, you will be able to…

Differentiate the elements of a rights claim along with the different forms such a claim may take,
Identify the different categories to which a right may belong, and
Reflect on what rights you may have along with what they may entail from others.

Read This:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Rights

Context

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was the result of over two years of deliberation by the United Nations. Based upon ideals of dignity, equality, and freedom, it provides an extensive lists of the rights that the signatory states thought ought to be protected for all persons.

In this excerpt from his book on ethics, the American philosopher Shelly Kagan (1956–present) expresses the concern that the nature of rights—like those contained in the UDHR—is often difficult to fully understand and articulate. That is, it is not always clear what a given right entails and/or who is actually obligated to ensure that right is protected and fulfilled.

Reading Questions

As you read, keep these questions in mind:

Generally speaking, what does it mean to have a right? For instance, why might it make more sense to say that an animal has rights than a table has rights?

How does Shelly Kagan characterize the differences between the following kinds of rights?

A.	General versus special rights,
B.	Negative versus positive rights, and
C.	Natural versus conventional rights.

Must rights be absolute? What four or five other properties does Kagan suggest are often also ascribed to rights?
How does Kagan’s discussion of all these issues substantiate his claim that “talk of rights… is horrendously ambiguous” (1998, p. 170)?

Although I strongly suggest that you write out brief answers to these questions, you do not have to turn in written responses. You do, however, need to be prepared to answer questions like these on module quizzes and the unit exams.