KANT ON RIGHTS

• He examined the idea of

human rights within politics
in such a way that it "is only
a legitimate government
that guarantees our
natural right to freedom,
and from this freedom we
Immanuel Kant
(1724 - 1804) derive other rights".
Three rational principles constitute
"righteous laws“:
1.The liberty of every member of the
society as a man
2.The equality of every member of the
society with every other, as a subject
3.The independence of every member of
the commonwealth as a citizen.
Two distinct parts (Metaphysics of
Morals):

1.the "Doctrine of Right"

2.the "Doctrine of Virtue.“
Three conditions that must be completed in order
for something to be considered legal:
1. Right concerns only actions that have influence on
other persons, directly or indirectly, meaning duties to
the self are excluded;
2. Right does not concern the wish but only the choice of
others, meaning that not mere desires but only
decisions which bring about actions are at stake; and
3. Right does not concern the matter of the other's act
but only the form, meaning no particular desires or
ends are assumed on the part of the agents.
contrasts between right and virtue
RIGHT
◦ outer freedom
◦ Concerns act independently of an
agent's motivation for executing them
◦ concerned with universality as a formal
condition of freedom
◦ concerned with restricted duties
VIRTUE
◦ inner freedom
◦ concerns the correct motivation for
dutiful actions
◦ concerned with a necessary end that
goes beyond the mere formality of
universality
◦ concerned with broad duties.
Right, according to Kant, is a subset of morally correct and
coercible actions. These different alternate formulations of the
distinction would exclude imperfect responsibilities not
because they do not "influence" others, but because they
cannot be coerced in specific situations since imperfect
duties always allow for the moderating function of an
individual's preferences. While the numerous formulations of
the distinction appear to be somewhat diverse, they may all
be summed by noting that right is concerned with outward
activity that corresponds to faultless duty and has an impact
on others, regardless of the individual's internal reasons or
aims.
Cosmopolitan Rights.
◦is restricted to the right of hospitality
◦is an important component of perpetual
peace.
◦is restricted to the ability to offer to engage
in commerce, rather than the ability to
engage in actual commerce, which must
always be voluntary.
Rights
◦ is described as an entitlement or justified claim to a certain kind of positive and negative
treatment from others, to support from others or non interference from others.
◦ In other words, a right is something to which every individual in the community is morally
permitted, and for which that community is entitled to disrespect or compulsorily remove
anything that stands in the way of even a single individual getting it.
◦ belong to individuals, and no organization has any rights not directly derived from those
of its members as individuals; and, just as an individual's rights cannot extend to where
they will intrude on another individual's rights, similarly the rights of any organization
whatever must yield to those of a single individual, whether inside or outside the
organization.
◦ are those important conditions of social life without which no person can generally
realize his best self. These are the essential conditions for health of both the individual
and his society. It is only when people get and enjoy rights that they can develop their
personalities and contribute their best services to the society.
Nature of Rights Laski's (1935)
1. Rights are the basic social conditions offered to the
individual who is an indispensable member of the society;
2. Rights enable man to fully enhance his personality; to
achieve his best self, in the words of Laski they are 'those
social conditions without which no man can seek to be his
best self’;
3. Rights are inherently social because they are never against
social welfare; the rights did not exist before the
emergence of society; they are those fundamental
necessities that which are very much social;
 Nature of Rights Laski's (1935)
4. The state plays the role of recognizing and protecting the rights
by providing for the full maintenance and observance of the
rights;
5. Rights are never absolute, the nature and extent for the
fulfillment of the rights are relative; as long men endeavor for the
upliftment and betterment of the conditions of life, rights continue
to serve as means for the satisfaction and gratification of
individual's needs; so there can be no rights which are absolute in
nature because absolute rights are a contradiction in terms;
6. Rights are dynamic in nature because the essence and
contents of rights vary according to change in place, time and
conditions.
Kinds of Rights
1.Natural rights
2.Moral rights
3.Legal rights
Natural rights
◦are parts of human nature
and reason.
John Locke (1632-1704) argued that people have
rights, such as the right to life liberty, and property
that have a foundation independent of the laws
of any particular society.
Moral rights
◦ are based on human consciousness.
◦ They are supported by moral force of human mind. These are based on
human sense of goodness and justice. These are not assisted by the force of
law. Sense of goodness and public opinion are the sanctions behind moral
rights. . If any person disrupts any moral right, no legal action can be taken
against him. The state does not enforce these rights. Its courts do not
recognize these rights. Moral rights include rules of good conduct, courtesy
and of moral behavior. These stand for moral perfection of the people.
Legal rights
◦ are those rights which are
accepted and enforced by the
state.
Distinction between Moral Rights and
Legal Rights
Moral Rights
◦ Natural: Moral rights are discovered, not
created. (This is a form of Moral Realism)
◦ Equal: Moral rights are equal rights; there
is no injustice in how they are distributed.
◦ Inalienable: Moral rights cannot be taken
away from you without consent
(although you can voluntarily surrender
them)
◦ Universal: Your moral rights are the same
no matter where you are.
Legal Rights
◦ Created: Our legal rights are created by
legislation.
◦ Can be unequal: There are many
situations in which the distribution of legal
rights is unjust.
◦ Alienable: Your legal rights can be taken
from you.
◦ Local: Your legal rights change when you
move from one jurisdiction to another."