{"id":995,"date":"2007-08-27T17:26:00","date_gmt":"2007-08-27T17:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/voxnova2.wordpress.com\/2007\/08\/27\/more-on-god-and-the-morality-of-human-rights\/"},"modified":"2007-08-27T17:26:00","modified_gmt":"2007-08-27T17:26:00","slug":"more-on-god-and-the-morality-of-human-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2007\/08\/27\/more-on-god-and-the-morality-of-human-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"More on God and “the morality of human rights”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Following up on this post of mine<\/a>, from a few days ago . . . . Over at Balkinization, Andy Koppelman has weighed in \u2014 with this post<\/a>, \u201cThe Partly Necessary God\u201d \u2014 to the Perry \/ Tamanaha \/ Vischer \/ Balkin \/ Araujo \/ etc. discussion on God and the morality of human rights. (It strikes me that Andy\u2019s post works well in conversation with Michael Scaperlanda\u2019s, at Mirror of Justice, here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

For starters, Prof. Koppelman takes it as having been \u201cshown\u201d that \u201creligion isn\u2019t necessary to human rights\u201d and also that religion is not \u201csufficient\u201d for human rights (after all, \u201cbelief in God has sometimes produced massive human rights violations\u201d). The latter point, certainly, is beyond dispute. (It is, of course, not beyond dispute that theism has produced more or worse human rights violations than atheism.) As for the former, I\u2019m not sure.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never understood Michael Perry\u2019s claim to be that \u201chuman rights\u201d cannot exist, in positive law, or that they cannot be enforced through litigation or protected in law, without \u201creligion.\u201d As Koppelman puts it, referring to the \u201cold gag about believing in adult baptism, all I can say is that \u2018I\u2019ve seen it done.'\u201d One can litigate or decide well human-rights cases, and one can \u201cbelieve\u201d in human rights, and one can struggle and sacrifice for human rights, without being a theist.<\/p>\n

But, I\u2019ve understood (maybe I have him wrong) Perry\u2019s claim to be that \u201cthe morality of human rights\u201d is one that proceeds from and \u2014 to the extent it describes moral realities, rather than preferences or conventions \u2014 depends on human-dignity claims that themselves depend on \u201creligious\u201d claims about the person. That is, I understand Perry\u2019s point to be that, if it is not the case that, in some sense, we are created, sustained, and loved by God, then, at the end of the day, it is not the case that we have \u201chuman dignity\u201d in the way that the \u201cmorality of human rights\u201d assumes. This point is not refuted, it seems to me, by the observation that some people believe in God, but disrespect human rights, or by the observation that some people disbelieve in God, and vindicate human rights. The challenge, it seems to me, is to figure out whether what needs to be true in order for the morality of human rights to be founded in something other than preference or convention really is true.<\/p>\n

Now, one could concede this and still say that theism is not necessary, that \u2014 say \u2014 Kant will do. (Assuming that Kantian morality does not itself depend on theism.) And then, I guess, the question is whether we think that, all things considered, the theistic account of the foundations of the morality of human rights is, on the merits, more reasonable than the Kantian account.
\nAt the end of the day, the question still remains whether it matters whether or not we should care whether or not the morality of human rights, as practiced and endorsed by non-theists, really requires theistic foundations. Koppelman ends his post:<\/p>\n

<\/blockquote>\n
<\/blockquote>\n
<\/blockquote>\n

We should be grateful for allies, instead of complaining that my foundation is
\nbetter than yours.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Maybe so. Thoughts?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Following up on this post of mine, from a few days ago . . . . Over at Balkinization, Andy Koppelman has weighed in \u2014 with this post, \u201cThe Partly Necessary God\u201d \u2014 to the Perry \/ Tamanaha \/ Vischer \/ Balkin \/ Araujo \/ etc. discussion on God and the morality of human rights. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2958,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-rick-garnett"],"yoast_head":"\nMore on God and "the morality of human rights"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Following up on this post of mine, from a few days ago . . . . 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