Читать реферат по английскому: "Do People Have Some Rights Just By" Страница 2

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Firstly, there is the question of internal obstacles to fulfilling one’s wants. Internal obstacles are those such as weak-heartedness and selfishness which must be overcome when trying to achieve some long-term, higher goal. It would seem that these obstacles, as they deal with conflict in one’s own wants, are irrelevant to the question of rights, although they do have a bearing on freedom. To solve this problem it is necessary to leave out internal barriers from our definition of freedom when discuss a human’s right to freedom.

The second such problem is that it may be, in some circumstances, for society to be morally justified in placing external barriers to an individuals freedom. This is a fundamental problem, as can be seen by referring back to the original definition and purpose of a right as stated above. If a right is a ‘trump’ that protects against state oppression, and is by definition morally correct, then it can not be the case that it is possible for the state to be morally justified in violating an individual’s right to freedom. This does seem to raise doubts that it is justifiable to speak of a ‘natural’ right to freedom.

This final point seems to show that it is impossible to proceed in our discussion of natural rights without beginning to make moral statements. It can be seen that in every case of conflict between rights of individuals, and civil laws, there is a moral assumption over what is most beneficial for society. This reflects the fact that most society function on a form of utilitarianism, where the greatest good for the greatest number generally seems to be the aim of state and society. This is not followed in its strictest from, but when making judgements over whether or not it is allowable for a form of the right to freedom to be violated, it is generally investigated to see if more people in the society will benefit from the violation of that individual’s rights. One example is traffic codes. The restriction on any individual from driving however they please, although a violation of their right to freedom, creates greater safety for a great number of people, and thus is morally desirable.

As can be seen, then, the discussion of natural rights is an inherently moral one. Moral question create fierce arguments, as it is nearly impossible to define a complete set of definite moral standards, taking into account different cultures and conflicting beliefs and interests. It is possible, however, to take the investigation of natural rights a fair distance before reaching the trap of making moral statements. It can be seen that a right, although it is only functional as protection against state oppression, can be derived from that existence of a single individual, in the form of the right to freedom. This does raise many other questions about freedom in general, and how it is possible to relate the roles of the individual and society using the rights of an individual and the laws of society.

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