2 response to john tasioulas-3. human rights as fundamental conditions for a good life

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1、2ResponsetoJohnTasioulasOnoraO’NeillI.JustifyingHuman RightsOnfirstconsiderationtheprojectofdevisingaphilosophicaljustificationforhumanrightslooksquiteodd.Humanrightshaveaspecificandrecentorigin,andthesched-uleofrightsdeclaredintheUniversalDeclarationofHumanRightsof1948reflectsthecont

2、ingenciesofthathistory.ThosewhoframedtheDeclarationdrewonearlierargumentsforconceptionsofnaturalrightsandoftherightsofman,butwhattheyproducedreflectsaspecifichistoricalsituation.TheDeclarationisacentralpartofthepost-WWIIsettlementandtheinstitutionalstructuresitestablished.Therightsdec

3、laredweretobeacknowledgedbytheaccessionofstatestotheUnitedNations,andlaterbytheirratificationofthemorespecificrightssetoutinthehumanrightsCovenantsofthelate1960s.Itseemsthattheanswertothequestion“Whyarehumanrightsbinding?”mightbesimplythatthestatesofwhichwearecitizenshaveagreedtothem.

4、This“justification”assumestheauthorityofstates,andassumesthattherelevantexercisesofthatauthorityhavetakenplace.Itbracketsquestionsaboutanydeepernor-mativejustificationofthestandardsthataresetoutinthehumanrightsdocuments.Nevertheless,thethoughtthathumanrightsarenomorethantheassertionsa

5、ndstand-ardsofaparticularhistoricalmoment,towhichstateshavecommittedthemselves(atleastforthetimebeing)iswidelyrejected.Forbetterorforworse,humanrightsareseenasformulatingvalidmoralclaimsthathumanbeingscanmakeononeanother,andinparticularonstatesandtheirinstitutionsandofficials,even(ore

6、specially)whenexistinginstitutionalstructuresfailtoprotectorsecurethoseclaims.Whenthecitizensofroguestatesaretorturedorimprisonedwithouttrialsordeprivedoftheirlivelihoods,nobodysaysinjustificationthatthosestateshavenotsigneduptohumanrights,or(a commonsituation)thattheyhavesignedupbutt

7、akennoeffectivestepstosecureorimplementthestandardstowhichtheysignedup.Humanrightsaretypicallyseenas“moralrightspossessedbyallhumanbeingssimplyinvirtueoftheirhumanity”.*Solikeearlierpro-ponentsofnaturalrightsoroftherightsofman,theproponentsofhumanrightsfaceadeeperandmoredifficultjusti

8、ficat