An Introduction to Rights, 2nd Edition

Author: William A. Edmundson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9781107648197
Published In: May 2012
Format: Paperback , 200 pages
Jurisdiction: International ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

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Contents

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An Introduction to Rights is a readable and accessible introduction to the history, logic, moral implications and political tendencies of the idea of rights. It is organized chronologically and discusses important historical events such as the French and American Revolutions. It treats a range of historical figures, including Grotius, Paley, Hobbes, Locke, Bentham, Burke, Godwin, Douglass, Mill and Hohfeld and relates the concept of rights to contemporary debates such as consequentialism versus contractualism. This thoroughly updated second edition includes a new preface and expands the discussion of the surprising role that slavery has played in the history of rights. It includes new material on egalitarianism, distributive justice and what the demand for equal rights means.

• Thoroughly revised second edition including a new preface

• Includes new material on egalitarianism, distributive justice and what the demand for equal rights means

• Expands the discussion of the surprising role that slavery has played in the history of rights

Preface to the First Edition	xi
A Note on the Second Edition	xiii
A Note on Citation Form	xv
List of Tables	xvi
Part One The First Expansionary Era	1
1. The Prehistory of Rights	3
2. The Rights of Man: The Enlightenment	13
3. “Mischievous Nonsense”?	36
4. Into the Nineteenth Century: Consolidation and Retrenchment	51
5. The Conceptual Neighborhood of Rights by Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld	71
Part Two The Second Expansionary Era	83
6. The Universal Declaration, and a Revolt Against Utilitarianism	85
7. The Nature of Rights: “Choice” Theory and “Interest” Theory	96
8. A Right to Do Wrong? Two Conceptions of Moral Rights	108
9. The Pressure of Consequentialism	116
10. What Is Interference?	131
11. The Future of Rights	140
12. Conclusion	160
Bibliographical Notes	163
References	167
Index	173