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Examples Of Rights Based Ethics
The first record of rights theory is in the 17th century in the texts written by Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, while modern day rights theory is the writings of Immanuel Kant, the eighteenth century philosopher. The rights theory outlines certain privileges that an individual is entitled to, namely freedom of speech, the right to privacy, and the right to due process. |
Kant’s theory is based on the ground he has called categorical imperative, a moral principle that states that an individual is a moral agent in relation to others. Rights are treated as ethically correct and true, since most people endorse them. However, this theory has also led to a number of questions, the prime one being deciding which rights should be upheld and which ones should be discarded.
If civilized society wishes to grant certain rights to the citizens, it must first determine its ethical priorities. Thus, it has been proven time and again that for the rights theory to be successfully implemented and show its usefulness, it needs to be adopted in association with the ethical theory that clearly mentions the objectives of a particular society. Take for instance, the fate of Jews under Hitler’s reign in Germany. Since Hitler was of the opinion that Jewish people were an impediment to Germany’s growth, everyone who belonged to that particular faith had to suffer the consequences of Hitler’s decision. Stark contrast to that train of thought is the decision of the founding fathers of America. They were absolutely clear on upholding the right to choose one’s faith, and hence, people in the US have the freedom to choose their religion.
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