Foundations of Human Rights: Religious Beliefs, Nature, and Rationality

Religious Beliefs as a Basis of Human Rights

From this perspective, human rights can be understood as a new way to express the idea that everyone is our neighbor and we should treat each other like brothers because we are all children of God.

Human Nature in Common

Many philosophers throughout history have held the idea that all humans share a common nature, are of the same species, and we have basically the same needs, fears, and aspirations to happiness. Human rights are one more discovery in the process of adaptation and survival of the species (either we fulfill human rights with each other or we risk disappearing).

Communicative Rationality and Mutual Recognition

Other philosophers say we can find a basis for human rights in our capacity to think, speak, etc. In this capacity, we mean when we say we are beings of reason or rationality. We can find together, through dialogue, norms of behavior that we consider acceptable. Human rights are universal standards of conduct that we discover when we realize that everyone is a valid entity, capable of dialogue, and able to express their opinions.

The Three Generations of Human Rights

Human rights have been recognized over time, meaning through a long period of moral learning that is not over yet. In this process, there are three different generations:

First Generation: The Rights of Freedom

This generation is that of civil and political rights. They were vindicated by the bourgeoisie against the old regime to get the right to life, to think and speak freely, to meet with anyone you want, etc. We consider that these rights are the basic moral value which serves as a guide: freedom.

The Rule of Law

The constitutions of most states collect the ideal of freedom in some articles that say that people have rights that no one should violate, much less the state, whose main mission is to ensure compliance. So we can consider the modern constitutional state is a state of law, like the kind of state that all public authorities are particularly obliged by law to respect the basic rights of people.

Characteristics of Human Rights

• Universal
• Preferences
• Inalienable
• Indivisible