Publication details
The Universality of Human Rights: A Reflection on Human and Non-Human Animal Similarities
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Právny obzor |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | Open access článku |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.31577/pravnyobzor.specialissue.2023.02 |
| Keywords | human rights; animal rights; universality; non-human animals; natural rights; argument from marginal cases; speciesism |
| Description | While natural rights are typically understood as applying only to humans, there are in fact no suitable criteria which justify such an assumption. Indeed, arguments from marginal cases show that characteristics which are considered innately human are not in fact shared by all humans and can even be identified in some non-human animals. However, if we try to dismiss the issue by implying that the fact of being human is itself a sufficient criterion, the problem of evolutionary theory then arises, with the gradual evolution of the human species suggesting that several different human species coexisted at some point in the past. In order to ensure the universality of human rights, we must draw the line not only in the present but also in the past, and in this context it would seem logical to extend natural rights to non-human animals. However, regardless of the criteria which we apply to this issue, it remains problematic to justify why the ones we have chosen are relevant to the existence of natural rights. |