Subject:
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Re: Nature of rights? (was: Did animals have rights before we invented rights?)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Mon, 2 Jul 2001 18:21:51 GMT
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Viewed:
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673 times
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> In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Christopher L. Weeks writes:
> If I could hear from them what it is that makes something a natural right,
> maybe that would clear things up a little. The only potential objection that I
> have at the outset of this, is that it seemed sometimes that people were
> defining these natural rights simply as the ability to act a way. If 'natural
> right' and 'ability' are synonyms, then what's the point in using a more
> complicated phrase to discuss it? There must, it seems, be something that
> distinguishes between these rights and abilities.
I would speculate, along with Larry, that animals do not have a system of
rights in the same form as humans do. But I don't think we invented the
condition of rights as much as they revealed themselves to us through nature.
Do you think this topic would be clearer if we analyze it in the sense of
"natural right" as the least destructive or disasterous effect to nature in
general? Going back to Larry's example of bacteria, if a bacteria thrives
and provides the basis of the food chain then it is "right" in the sense
that it makes a positive contribution. Likewise if a bacteria is parasitic
and destroys other organisms it is also "right" because it helps control the
population. That's the system of natural checks and balances that form the
foundation of natural rights, in my opinion. I hope that helps.
Modern people are an exception because they defy nature with technology that
mostly contributes to disaster and depletion rather than equilibrium and
renewal. They violate the "natural right" or right-of-way for many organisms
to thrive and renew the earth. The effect is often disasterous, such as
carbon monoxide pollution, toxic rain, ozone depletion, global warming and
other manmade calamities that could have been avoided if we didn't mistake
foolishness for progress.
Dan
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