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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Tue, 3 Jul 2001 12:56:23 GMT
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Viewed:
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707 times
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At this moment I am drinking Mountain Dew; Code Red. I have the ability to
drink it and have chosen to do so. The right to drink it is mine, I have
given this right to myself. If, this afternoon, I were to learn that the
governments of the world have banned together to prohibit the drinking of
Mountain Dew; Code Red, they would have successfully opressed my self-given
right. The societies of the world might even decide to uphold this new
prohibitve law, and pass it on to future generations, making it a poor moral
decision to drink this beverage.
The law of man can dictate a persons "rights". This we all know from
experience and/or observation. To define what a "right" is, we need look no
further than our own desires and abilities. If I desire to kill my neighbor
for playing his music too loud, it is my right to do so according to my
ability to do so. I may use moral judgement and decide against such a
harsh, animalistic act of aggression. However, I may not have that moral
inclination (and I have observed that some people actually do not),
therefore, the law of the land might serve to prohibit such violence by
imposing harsh penalties on persons who commit the deed. I may still feel
it is my right to kick that neighbor in his head until he dies, however, I
may decide that the law of the land is imposing enough to warrent a less
violent action.
And so after much thought on this subject, this seems clear to me...
My "rights" are mine for the choosing according to my abilities (I might
make it my right to fly, except for the lack of wings or the funds for an
air vehicle of my own).
My society may impose regulations (laws), some of which might prohibit my
self-proclaimed rights. If I intend to continue living in my society, I
will have no choice but to relinquish some of my rights, and perhaps even
accept some that I had not considered.
In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy my Mountain Dew; Code Red...after
all, it is my right to drink it if I wish...until someone tells me it is no
longer lawful to do so. Then I will either take my beverage out of the
country and enjoy it elsewhere, or relinquish it.
In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Christopher L. Weeks writes:
> In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Larry Pieniazek writes:
>
> > My point is that rights
> > don't conflict, and that animals do not use a system of rights in working
> > things out. They are amoral. Like I said to Dan, if you disagree, your
> > understanding of rights, in my opinion, is suspect. By extension,
> > anything you say ABOUT rights is therefore suspect as well, in
> > my opinion.
>
> It sounds like you're were going somewhere good and have given up Larry.
>
> I assume (hope!) your goal in all this was not to get to the point where you
> could just tell folks that they don't understand rights. I think there must be
> common elements of what makes a 'right' in all of our understandings. Dan,
> Scott, Kirby, and Ross seem to be agreeing to some kind of 'natural rights'
> that mean something entirely different than what I (and I think you) mean by
> the word.
>
> 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.
>
> And I think I don't just agree with you (Larry) on rights either. Correct me
> if I'm wrong, but you seem to believe that rights are immutible or not based on
> the context of culture. I think they clearly are.
>
> Chris
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