Rights and Liberty: Lectures 3 & 4
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Questions and Answers

How do liberty rights differ from claim rights?

Liberty rights do not entail a duty on others; they simply permit individuals to act.

According to Henry Shue, what do all rights entail?

All rights entail positive duties and responsibilities on others.

What challenge is posed to the distinction between claim rights and liberty rights?

Some philosophers argue that all rights involve duties, making the distinction untenable.

Why might the distinction between rights be significant?

<p>It affects how responsibilities are assigned and understood in societal structures.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary concern of the Interest Theory of Rights?

<p>It examines the purpose and justification of rights based on individual interests.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What ethical dilemma is presented regarding the sheriff's actions in relation to the riots?

<p>The ethical dilemma is whether the sheriff should hang an innocent man to prevent violent riots, balancing justice against public safety.</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does the concept of rights apply to the situation described in the sheriff's dilemma?

<p>The situation highlights rights such as the right to life and justice, questioning if one right can be sacrificed for another.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the significance of office hours announced for class reps?

<p>The significance is to provide students with accessible opportunities to engage with their representatives for support or concerns.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Why is it important to download and install the Slido app on computers?

<p>It is important to use Slido for interactive participation, enabling real-time polling and engagement during presentations.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Can the sheriff be seen as upholding rights or violating them by considering the hanging of an innocent man?

<p>The sheriff could be seen as violating the rights of the innocent man by prioritizing public order over individual justice.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What implications does the concept of rights have on the actions of emergency services?

<p>Emergency services have a duty to uphold rights by providing assistance and protecting individuals' safety and well-being.</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does the right to refuse medical treatment relate to individual autonomy?

<p>The right to refuse medical treatment emphasizes individual autonomy, allowing persons to make personal health decisions.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What role do class representatives play in the context of student rights?

<p>Class representatives advocate for student rights, addressing concerns and ensuring voices are heard at the institutional level.</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does Ronald Dworkin view the relationship between rights and utility?

<p>Dworkin believes that rights act as 'trumps' over utility, meaning that individual rights take precedence over collective benefits.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the two main types of rights conflicts described?

<p>The two main types of rights conflicts are Rights vs. Rights Conflict and Rights vs. Utility Conflict.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Provide an example of a Rights vs. Rights conflict.

<p>An example is the conflict between the right to free movement and another individual's right to health during a pandemic.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the saying 'your right to swing your arm ends at the point where my nose begins' signify?

<p>It signifies the limitation of individual rights when they infringe upon the rights of others.</p> Signup and view all the answers

In terms of ethical frameworks, why are rights important to utilitarianism?

<p>Rights are important to utilitarianism because they set limits that prevent the infringement of individual liberties for the sake of overall utility.</p> Signup and view all the answers

How can the idea of rights as 'trumps' be detrimental in practical scenarios?

<p>It can lead to rigid adherence to rights that may result in neglecting larger societal needs or complexities.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What fundamental principle does Dworkin's theory imply about the state's role in individual rights?

<p>Dworkin's theory implies that the state must refrain from infringing upon individual rights even if doing so might benefit the majority.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Name one ethical challenge that arises from Rights vs. Utility conflicts.

<p>One ethical challenge is determining how to prioritize the needs of the many against the rights of the few.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the Balancing Approach imply regarding conflicting rights?

<p>It implies that we must evaluate the importance of each conflicting right and determine which one should prevail.</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does the Denial strategy deal with rights conflicts?

<p>It asserts that one of the purported rights is not a right, thereby eliminating the conflict.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of Specificationism in resolving rights conflicts?

<p>Specificationism aims to clarify rights to demonstrate that they do not actually conflict when precisely defined.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What challenge does the Defeatism strategy present in handling rights conflicts?

<p>It acknowledges that a rights conflict exists but suggests there is no principled method to resolve it.</p> Signup and view all the answers

In the context of the Balancing Approach, how is the right to protest viewed against the right to an undisturbed life?

<p>The right to protest is weighed against the right to live undisturbed, with a need to balance their respective importance.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Why might the Balancing Approach be preferred over Defeatism?

<p>It offers a method for resolving conflicts rather than accepting a lack of resolution.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Can you provide an example of a situation where Specificationism might apply?

<p>An example could be a debate over land use, where defining property rights more specifically might clarify conflicts.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a potential drawback of the Balancing Approach in rights conflicts?

<p>A potential drawback is the subjective nature of determining which right is more important.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the main critique of the expansion of human rights?

<p>It suggests that more things are being labeled as human rights, leading to a lack of clarity about what constitutes a human right.</p> Signup and view all the answers

How do proponents of animal rights criticize the concept of human rights?

<p>They argue that human rights neglect the interests of non-human animals.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Define negative freedom as described by Isaiah Berlin.

<p>Negative freedom is defined as freedom from external interference.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does positive freedom entail according to Isaiah Berlin?

<p>Positive freedom refers to the ability or capacity to act upon one's own free will.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the term 'liberty' signify in relation to human rights?

<p>Liberty signifies freedom and is often used interchangeably with freedom in discussions of human rights.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does it mean when human rights are described as 'unprincipled'?

<p>It suggests that there is ambiguity in determining what qualifies as a human right versus a strong right.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Explain the significance of the distinction between human rights and strong rights.

<p>This distinction is important because it questions the basis of categorizing certain rights as human rights.</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does the criticism of human rights relate to the concepts of freedom?

<p>Critiques of human rights can reflect concerns over both negative and positive freedoms in their application.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What distinguishes negative freedom from positive liberty?

<p>Negative freedom is the absence of interference from others, while positive liberty is the ability to act towards one's fundamental goals.</p> Signup and view all the answers

How can a drug addict still be considered free in terms of negative liberty?

<p>A drug addict can be considered free in terms of negative liberty as long as others do not interfere with their actions, despite their compulsions.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Explain why a poor person lacking money to pursue education does not possess positive liberty.

<p>A poor person lacks positive liberty because their financial constraints prevent them from achieving their fundamental goal of attending university.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What criticism do theorists have about the concept of negative freedom?

<p>Theorists argue that freedom needs to be robust, and mere absence of interference does not equate to true freedom if basic needs are unmet.</p> Signup and view all the answers

In what way does Amartya Sen's capabilities approach relate to the understanding of freedom?

<p>Sen's capabilities approach argues that freedom is about having the ability to achieve fundamental goals, rather than merely the absence of interference.</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does the definition of positive liberty incorporate concepts of self-mastery?

<p>Positive liberty involves self-mastery and self-autonomy, empowering individuals to act towards fulfilling their fundamental aims.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Can you provide an example illustrating the difference between negative and positive freedom?

<p>An individual may be free from interference (negative freedom) but lacks the resources to pursue education (positive freedom).</p> Signup and view all the answers

What role do economic factors play in the critique of negative freedom?

<p>Economic factors play a critical role by illustrating that individuals may lack freedom if they cannot fulfill their desires due to financial limitations.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards

Office Hours

Times when a professor is available to meet with students to discuss course material.

Drop-in

Meeting with a professor without a scheduled appointment.

Class Representative

A student who represents the class to the professor or other relevant parties.

Rights

Entitlements for individuals to act or not act, or for others to act or not act on their behalf.

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Slido app

An application used for real-time audience polling during presentations.

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Sheriff

An officer of the law, usually associated with maintaining order and enforcing the law.

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Innocent man

A man presumed to be not responsible for a crime.

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Violent Riots

Unlawful public disturbances characterized by aggressive actions.

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Rights as trumps

Rights are prioritized over general good or utility; a right supersedes other considerations.

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Rights conflicts

When different rights clash or oppose each other.

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Rights vs. Rights conflict

A type of rights conflict where one right directly clashes with another.

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Rights vs. Utility conflict

A type of rights conflict where a right clashes with what might benefit most people.

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Claim Rights

Rights that create a duty on others to act in a certain way.

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Free movement, health right

Examples of rights that can conflict, such as in a pandemic.

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Liberty Rights

Rights that involve permissions to act, but do not impose duties on others.

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Right to swing arm

Personal limit; another's nose marks the limit of a right.

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Philosophers' agreement on rights conflicts

Rights can oppose each other.

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Right to Food

A potential claim right where the state has a duty to provide food or the resources to obtain it.

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Right to Freedom of Speech

A liberty right—it permits you to speak, but does not create a duty for others to listen.

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Utility

The best general outcome for a population.

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Right to Sex (Adult)

A liberty right—not a claim right for others to provide it.

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Interest Theory of Rights

A view that rights protect interests, possibly implying duties on others.

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Claim rights entail duties

Some claim that in order for rights to exist, there must be a corresponding duty on others.

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All rights entail duties?

Philosophers debate whether all rights, including liberty rights, also involve duties on others.

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Balancing Approach

A way to deal with conflicting rights by weighing their importance and letting the more crucial right prevail.

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Strategy: Deny the conflict

One right is not truly a right (not valid).

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Strategy: Specificationism

Rigorous definition, no clash when specified more precisely.

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Strategy: Defeatism

No principled way to resolve a rights conflict.

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Conflict Resolution

Strategies for handling situations when rights clash.

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Important Right

The more important claim amidst conflicting rights.

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Protest vs. Peaceful Living

Example: Right to protest being balanced against the right to undisturbed living.

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Negative Freedom?

The freedom to act without interference from others.

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Positive Freedom?

The freedom to act in a way that achieves your goals and realizes your full potential.

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What's an example of negative freedom?

A person with severe compulsions or addictions would still be considered free if others aren't interfering with them.

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What's an example of negative freedom?

Someone living in a society where they can go about their life freely without others interfering.

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What's an example of someone lacking positive freedom?

A drug addict may not have the freedom to achieve their goals due to their addiction.

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What's an example of someone lacking positive freedom?

A poor person may not have the freedom to attend university if they lack the financial resources.

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What's a critique of negative freedom?

It's argued that freedom needs to be robust, considering factors like poverty, which limit a person's ability to pursue their goals.

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What's the capabilities approach to freedom?

This view emphasizes having the capability to achieve fundamental goals, which requires addressing factors like poverty and lack of resources.

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Human Rights Critiques

Arguments that challenge the concept of human rights. These critiques can focus on issues like the expansion of rights, ambiguity in defining what constitutes a right, and the lack of consideration for non-human animals.

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Liberty

The state of being free from external constraints, often used interchangeably with freedom.

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What are the two concepts of freedom?

Isaiah Berlin distinguishes between Negative Freedom, which is freedom from external interference, and Positive Freedom, which is the freedom to act and pursue self-realization.

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Expansionism of Rights

A critique of human rights arguing that the definition of human rights is constantly expanding, including things that may not be essential or universally accepted.

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Unprincipled Nature of Human Rights?

A critique arguing that there's no clear and consistent principle that determines what constitutes a human right, leading to inconsistencies and potential abuses.

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Animal Rights & Human Rights

A critique arguing that human rights fail to adequately address the interests of non-human animals, ignoring their needs and welfare.

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Study Notes

Rights and Liberty

  • Rights are entitlements to perform or not perform actions, or have others perform/not perform actions on our behalf.
  • Examples of rights include: voting, refusing medical treatment, receiving emergency assistance, and not being assaulted.
  • Hohfeld's incidents: a claim, privilege, power, or immunity.
  • Claim: A has a claim that B does something if B has a duty to A to do that thing.
  • Privilege: A has privilege to do something if A has no duty not to do that thing.
  • Power: A has the ability to alter their own or another's rights.
  • Immunity: A lacks the ability to alter B's rights.

Lectures 3 & 4

  • Lecture 3: Nature of Rights, Hohfeld's typology of rights, rights conflicts, human rights.
  • Lecture 4: Nature of liberty, Berlin's two concepts of freedom, limits of liberty, freedom of speech and hate speech.

Brief Updates

  • Reduction in Essential Readings.
  • Duplicate book listings removed.
  • Office hours are now drop-in instead of appointments on Thursdays 9-11am in MC419.
  • Class representative information.

The Sheriff and the Innocent Man

  • A hypothetical ethical dilemma.

Claim Rights

  • Entail positive duties on others.
  • Example: the right to healthcare means doctors have a duty to provide healthcare.
  • Example: the right to food means the state has a duty to provide food.

Liberty Rights

  • Do not entail a duty on others.
  • Example: the right to freedom of speech does not obligate others to listen.
  • Example: the right to sex does not obligate others to provide it.

Are all Rights Claim Rights?

  • Some philosophers disagree that all rights entail positive duties.
  • Henry Shue argues that even basic rights (like the right to security) include duties on others.

What's the Point of Rights?

  • Interest Theory (e.g. Raz): Rights are claims about individuals' interests, primarily to protect fundamental interests.
  • Will Theory (e.g. Hart): Rights limit what the state and others can do to or for individuals.

Utilitarianism

  • A theory judging the right action as the one producing greatest good for the greatest number.
  • Measures utility (or happiness).
  • Conflicts with rights of individuals in pursuit of overall good.

Ronald Dworkin and Rights as "Trumps"

  • Rights are seen as trumping utility, setting limits for utilitarianism.

Rights Conflicts

  • Rights can conflict in various ways: right versus right, right versus utility.
  • Methods for dealing with conflicts, including:

Balancing Approach

  • Weighing conflicting rights to determine the more important one.

Specificationist Approach

  • Specifies rights further to show no conflict.
  • Problems with this method:
  • Rights may collapse into contextual considerations. Difficult to fully specify rights.

Rights-Rights Conflicts

  • Conflicts between rights, e.g., right to freedom of movement against right to health during a pandemic.

Critiques of Rights

  • Utilitarians criticize rights as "nonsense".
  • Libertarians limit rights to property, bodily integrity, and fraud prevention.
  • Concern about proliferation of rights without principled reason.

Human Rights

  • Influential in political and legal realms.
  • Viewed with suspicion in some circles.

Critiques of Human Rights

  • Expansionism (some say too many categories of things are considered rights).
  • Lack of principle (some say not clear what constitutes a human right).
  • Animal rights (some criticize that human rights don't respect non-human animal interests).

Liberty

  • Often used interchangeably with freedom.

Berlin's Two Concepts of Freedom

  • Negative freedom: Freedom from external interference.
  • Positive freedom: Freedom to achieve one's goals.

Critiques of Negative Freedom

  • Theorists argue need for robust freedom, a lack of money limits action and therefore freedom.

Critiques of Positive Freedom

  • Feared conflation of things that are simply good (e.g., being able to do things) with freedom.
  • Danger of state power.

Mill's Harm Principle

  • The only purpose for power over a person is to prevent harm to others.
  • Individuals are sovereign over their own bodies and minds.
  • State intervention is only justified to prevent harm to others.
  • Harm can be subtle (e.g., injuring reputation).

Feinberg on Harm

  • Feinberg provides more criteria: harm should be a setback to a person's interests, and those interests should be wrongful.

Freedom of Speech

  • Mill defends freedom of speech for several key reasons.
  • One cannot know the truth without challenging it.

Hate Speech

  • Grey area when discussing freedom of speech.
  • Should hate speech be criminalized?

Sample Exam Questions

  • What are rights and when are we justified in breaching them?
  • When, if ever, may the state restrict our liberty?

Summary

  • Rights and liberty are key concepts in political philosophy.
  • Rights have commonly divided into Hohfeldian components (claims, privileges, powers, and immunities).
  • Conflicts between rights and utility are common discussion subjects, leading to certain trade-offs.

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Related Documents

Rights Lecture Notes PDF, University of Strathclyde

Description

This quiz covers the fundamental concepts of rights and liberty as discussed in lectures 3 and 4. Explore Hohfeld's incidents of rights including claims, privileges, powers, and immunities, alongside Berlin's two concepts of freedom and their implications. Test your understanding of human rights and the nature of liberty.

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