Myth of Universal Human Rights: Its Origin, History, and Explanation, Along with a More Humane Way PDF
Preview Myth of Universal Human Rights: Its Origin, History, and Explanation, Along with a More Humane Way
The Myth of Universal Human Rights The Myth of Universal Human Rights Its Origin, History, and Explanation, Along with a More Humane Way David N. Stamos First published 2013 by Paradigm Publishers Published 2016 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Copyright © 2013, Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Stamos, David N., 1957– The myth of universal human rights: its origin, history, and explanation, along with a more humane way / David N. Stamos. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-61205-242-7 (pbk: alk. paper) 1. Human rights. 2. Human rights—History. I. Title. JC571.S7775 2012 323—dc23 2012024529 ISBN 13: 978-1-61205-241-0 (hbk) ISBN 13: 978-1-61205-242-7 (pbk) Disigned and Typeset in Adobe Garamond by Straight Creek Bookmakers. for my students Contents Acknowledgments Preface Chapter 1: Introduction Problem, Audience, and Myth Chapter Summaries Conceptual Errors and Fallacies Chapter 2: Evolution and Universal Human Rights The Theological Foundation of Universal Human Rights The Foundation in Human Nature Taking Evolution Seriously Chapter 3: Scholarly Defenses of Universal Human Rights Alan White Jack Donnelly Charles Beitz Jack Mahoney Alan Gewirth James Griffin Martha Nussbaum Chapter 4: Getting the History of Human Rights Wrong The Bible Confucius, Cyrus, and the Koran Ancient Greeks Ancient Romans Medieval Scholars Grotius, Hobbes, and Pufendorf Chapter 5: Getting the History of Human Rights Right The English Levellers Locke Jefferson to the Present Chapter 6: Explaining the Human Rights Epidemic Memetics The Democracy Connection Competing Explanations Inference to the Best Explanation Resistance to the Human Rights Epidemic Evolutionary Psychology and Fairness Chapter 7: Evolution, Ethics, and Justice Bentham and MacIntyre The Elephant and the Blind Indians Naturalized Normative Ethics Naturalia Abortion, Affirmative Action, Same-Sex Marriage, the Treatment of Animals, Waterboarding, and Political Regime Change Conclusion References Index About the Author Acknowledgments FIRST AND FOREMOST I WANT TO THANK JASON BARRY, my editor at Paradigm Publishers, for his wisdom and guidance, which was quite extraordinary here. The book was further improved by the perspicacity of Paradigm’s project editor, Meredith Smith, and copyeditor, Antoinette Smith. Thanks are also due to the anonymous referees (especially the one who suggested a change in the order of the chapters) and to Ryan Chynces, who provided the spark that led away from a paper in progress to the writing of this book in the first place. In addition, I want to thank the individuals, organizations, and departments that provided me the opportunity to lecture on this topic and receive feedback on some of its ideas, specifically John Xu and Katie Kish of the Centre for Inquiry in Toronto, Mauro Buccheri of Founders College at York University, Brian Garrett of the philosophy department at McMaster University, and Andrew Sneddon of the philosophy department at the University of Ottawa. There are others I want to thank who contributed to this book in one way or another, many of them in terms of useful feedback on one or more parts of the manuscript at various stages of its growth in addition to my editor and the anonymous referees, namely, Robert Aunger, Joshua Bachynski, Jason Buccheri, Michelle Devlin, Megi Duraku, Amir Ghorashi, Sepideh (Sandra) Javadi, Matthew Kramer, Bernie Lightman, Tyler Lin, Adam Riggio, Samira Sahihi, Tamara Schwarz, Gloria Segovia, Neven Sesardic, John Shafer, Andrew Sharp, Marc Soscia, Julia Tourianski, Minwan (Mindy) Xu, and Carol Yuen. Finally, I want to unconventionally acknowledge the many nonhuman animals, both past and present, with whom I have had the pleasure to share life—in their own way, due to the wonder of their being, they helped to write the final chapter. Preface WHY A BOOK AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS? It sounds downright devilish. What kind of person would want to write such a book? Does the author hate people? He must. Maybe he’s a neo-Nazi and this is his own Mein Kampf. Surely this should not be allowed in this day and age! These sentiments, and others like them, are bound to be the response of many to the very title of this book. And the answer to them all is simple and straightforward: a person who puts truth and evidence above ideology, a person who doesn’t hate people but doesn’t hate animals either, a person who believes that truth and compassion are not mutually exclusive but are often perfectly compatible, a person who greatly values life and believes that matters of ethics and justice are too important to depend on myths. Imagine ancient Greece at its peak, during the fifth century B.C., with the public believing in Zeus and the rest of the ancient gods, and the few philosophers who dared to question or challenge the existence of those gods being persecuted for impiety and blasphemy. Today we look back at the situation with puzzlement, including condescension. It’s so obvious to us that their gods were a myth. But this is because we have the vantage point of history. To them their gods were fully real. And not only were they fully real, but for all their faults the gods were the foundation of ethics and justice, as enshrined in their sacred stories, such as Homer’s Iliad. All in all it was as if they could feel the truth pumping in their hearts, sometimes even as if the gods were speaking to them directly. Today we look back at these people as wrongheaded and even naive. But do we really see that? Scroll ahead to the present day, to our modern world, and suppose, just suppose for the moment, that the belief that humans have human rights— moral claims and entitlements by virtue of being human, held equally, innately, and inalienably by all—could be proven false, beyond a reasonable doubt, that it could be proven that the dominant moral language of our world, both nationally and internationally, is a modern myth. How would you feel? What would you say? What would you do? Would you want a better way of
Description:The list of books you might like
