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      Hegel and Human Rights: The Dialectic of Freedom

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      MILNE-THESIS.pdf (634.8Kb)
      Date
      2011-10-04
      Author
      Milne, Thomas
      Type
      Thesis
      Degree Level
      Masters
      Metadata
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      Abstract
      In the present work, I argue that there is a crisis in the realm of human rights theory. Namely, how can we achieve a rationally justified account of human rights without abstracting away from all the important, particular features that constitute our various identities as human beings? It is my argument that current theoretical approaches to human rights contribute to the problem of alienation in rights-based societies, and fall short of practicability in other societies due to an insufficient understanding of human subjectivity and freedom. One solution to this difficulty, I argue, can be found in philosophical perspective of G.W.F. Hegel. Hegel’s unique dialectical understanding of human subjectivity and freedom allows us to focus on the “human side” of human rights, ultimately developing an account which incorporates the strongest points of current human rights theories while avoiding their problematic consequences. Through this Hegelian analysis, we will see that while human rights are grounded in freedom, this freedom requires a social community in which it can be realized. In other words, we must acknowledge that society and the individual are mutually constitutive and for human rights to be more than just empty formalisms, there needs to be certain societal and institutional structures which are conducive to their actualization.
      Degree
      Master of Arts (M.A.)
      Department
      Philosophy
      Program
      Philosophy
      Supervisor
      Regnier, Daniel
      Committee
      Jenkins, Maricarmen; MacLeod, Allan
      Copyright Date
      September 2011
      URI
      http://hdl.handle.net/10388/ETD-2011-09-119
      Subject
      Hegel
      Human Rights
      Dialectic
      Phenomenology
      Subjectivity
      Freedom
      Political Theory
      Philosophy
      Capabilities
      Consciousness
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      • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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