The Limits of Ethics in International Relations

Natural Law, Natural Rights, and Human Rights in Transition

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, International, International Relations, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy
Cover of the book The Limits of Ethics in International Relations by David Boucher, OUP Oxford
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: David Boucher ISBN: 9780191616976
Publisher: OUP Oxford Publication: May 5, 2011
Imprint: OUP Oxford Language: English
Author: David Boucher
ISBN: 9780191616976
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Publication: May 5, 2011
Imprint: OUP Oxford
Language: English

Ethical constraints on relations among individuals within and between societies have always reflected or invoked a higher authority than the caprices of human will. For over two thousand years Natural Law and Natural Rights were the constellations of ideas and presuppositions that fulfilled this role in the west, and exhibited far greater similarities than most commentators want to admit. Such ideas were the lens through which Europeans evaluated the rest of the world. In his major new book David Boucher rejects the view that Natural Rights constituted a secularisation of Natural Law ideas by showing that most of the significant thinkers in the field, in their various ways, believed that reason leads you to the discovery of your obligations, while God provides the ground for discharging them. Furthermore, the book maintains that Natural Rights and Human Rights are far less closely related than is often asserted because Natural Rights never cast adrift the religious foundationalism, whereas Human Rights, for the most part, have jettisoned the Christian metaphysics upon which both Natural Law and Natural Rights depended. Human Rights theories, on the whole, present us with foundationless universal constraints on the actions of individuals, both domestically and internationally. Finally, one of the principal contentions of the book is that these purportedly universal rights and duties almost invariably turn out to be conditional, and upon close scrutiny end up being 'special' rights and privileges as the examples of multicultural encounters, slavery and racism, and women's rights demonstrate.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Ethical constraints on relations among individuals within and between societies have always reflected or invoked a higher authority than the caprices of human will. For over two thousand years Natural Law and Natural Rights were the constellations of ideas and presuppositions that fulfilled this role in the west, and exhibited far greater similarities than most commentators want to admit. Such ideas were the lens through which Europeans evaluated the rest of the world. In his major new book David Boucher rejects the view that Natural Rights constituted a secularisation of Natural Law ideas by showing that most of the significant thinkers in the field, in their various ways, believed that reason leads you to the discovery of your obligations, while God provides the ground for discharging them. Furthermore, the book maintains that Natural Rights and Human Rights are far less closely related than is often asserted because Natural Rights never cast adrift the religious foundationalism, whereas Human Rights, for the most part, have jettisoned the Christian metaphysics upon which both Natural Law and Natural Rights depended. Human Rights theories, on the whole, present us with foundationless universal constraints on the actions of individuals, both domestically and internationally. Finally, one of the principal contentions of the book is that these purportedly universal rights and duties almost invariably turn out to be conditional, and upon close scrutiny end up being 'special' rights and privileges as the examples of multicultural encounters, slavery and racism, and women's rights demonstrate.

More books from OUP Oxford

Cover of the book The European Union: A Very Short Introduction by David Boucher
Cover of the book Sentencing Guidelines by David Boucher
Cover of the book Speech Acts and Clause Types by David Boucher
Cover of the book Handbook of the Marine Fauna of North-West Europe by David Boucher
Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of Human Capital by David Boucher
Cover of the book Civil Resistance in the Arab Spring by David Boucher
Cover of the book Faith and Its Critics by David Boucher
Cover of the book C. Day-Lewis: The Golden Bridle by David Boucher
Cover of the book Set-Off in Arbitration and Commercial Transactions by David Boucher
Cover of the book Crystallography: A Very Short Introduction by David Boucher
Cover of the book A Dictionary of Biology by David Boucher
Cover of the book Inferior Politics by David Boucher
Cover of the book Justine, or the Misfortunes of Virtue by David Boucher
Cover of the book Dinosaurs: A Very Short Introduction by David Boucher
Cover of the book Max Weber and 'The Protestant Ethic' by David Boucher
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy