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Abstract
This collection of papers offers a philosophical perspective – including the all-important and significant perspective from the point of view of 'dharma' – to a host of intricate ethical problems in personal, professional and social life, by providing an understanding of the concepts of human rights and responsibilities which are central to those problems.
Shashi Motilal is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Delhi.
The core concern underlying the various problems in applied ethics is that of human rights. While most writings on human rights deal with its legal, political and socio-economic aspects, this collection instead addresses the philosophical aspect which has hitherto been neglected. Furthermore, the book explores the Indian counterpart of the idea of human rights which can be found in the notion of 'dharma'.
The text addresses issues of conceptual analysis as well as contextual applications of the idea of human rights and its fine nuances. It also contains papers which analyze the concept of 'dharma', raising questions on whether this concept can do 'double duty' for the notions of human rights as well as the notion of human duties. The collection offers papers on human rights issues of different categories of people, including ethnic minorities, homosexuals, women, mentally ill people and prisoners. The papers in this volume also afford grounds for comparative study.
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front Matter | i | ||
| Half Title | i | ||
| Title | iii | ||
| Copyright | iv | ||
| TABLE OF CONTENTS | vii | ||
| PREFACE | ix | ||
| INTRODUCTION | xiii | ||
| I | xiii | ||
| II | xxix | ||
| III | xxxix | ||
| Notes | xli | ||
| References | xli | ||
| Part One: RIGHTS, OBLIGATIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES | xliii | ||
| Chapter 1: APPLYING ETHICS: MODES, MOTIVES AND LEVELS OF COMMITMENT | xlv | ||
| Ethics and the World | xlv | ||
| Applicability of an Ethical Theory | xlviii | ||
| Primacy of the Ethical | lv | ||
| Ethics and Metaethics | lx | ||
| Application and Motivation | lxiii | ||
| Application and Levels of Commitment | lxiv | ||
| Notes | lxxii | ||
| References | lxxiv | ||
| Chapter 2: JURISPRUDENCE AND THE INDIVIDUAL: BRIDGING THE GENERAL AND THE PARTICULAR | lxxv | ||
| Legal Theory Prior to Positivism | lxxvi | ||
| Bentham: Precursor to Positivism | lxxvii | ||
| The Positivists: From Austin to Hart | lxxix | ||
| Challenges to Positivism: The Hart-Fuller Debate | lxxxiii | ||
| Challenges to Positivism: Dworkin | lxxxvii | ||
| Conclusion | lxxxviii | ||
| Notes | xci | ||
| References | xci | ||
| Chapter 3: WHY MORAL RELATIVISM DOES NOT MAKE SENSE | xciii | ||
| What is Moral Relativism? | xciii | ||
| What is Wrong with Moral Relativism? | xciv | ||
| Moral Truths | xcv | ||
| Does Applied Ethics Presuppose Relativism? | xcvi | ||
| References | xcvii | ||
| Chapter 4: HUMAN RIGHTS – A THEORETICAL FORAY | xcix | ||
| Origins | xcix | ||
| Utilitarians, Marxists and Human Rights | ci | ||
| Can Human Rights be Universal – New Perspectives | ciii | ||
| Conclusion | cvii | ||
| References | cviii | ||
| Chapter 5: MORAL RELATIVISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS | cix | ||
| Moral Relativism and Human Rights | cxii | ||
| Objections to the Concept of Human Rights | cxiii | ||
| Justification for Human Rights | cxvi | ||
| Conclusion | cxxii | ||
| Notes | cxxii | ||
| References | cxxii | ||
| Chapter 6: COMPLICITY AND RESPONSIBILITY | cxxv | ||
| Chapter 7: DHARMA: THE OVERRIDING PRINCIPLE OF INDIAN LIFE AND THOUGHT | cxxxiii | ||
| Metaphysical Dimension of Dharma | cxxxvi | ||
| Regulatory Role of Dharma | cxxxviii | ||
| References | cxlii | ||
| Chapter 8: MORAL FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIAL ORDER AS SUGGESTED IN THE VAISESIKASUTRAS | cxliii | ||
| Notes | cxlix | ||
| References | cxlix | ||
| Chapter 9: MODERN WESTERN CONCEPTION OF JUSTICE AS EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW AND DHARMASASTRAS | cli | ||
| Notes | clxvii | ||
| References | clxvii | ||
| Part Two: HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES | clxix | ||
| Chapter 10: FRAGILE IDENTITIES AND CONSTRUCTED RIGHTS | clxxi | ||
| Sushma | clxxii | ||
| Qul | clxxiii | ||
| References | clxxix | ||
| Chapter 11: AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: COMPENSATION OR DISCRIMINATION? | clxxxi | ||
| The History of the Debate | clxxxi | ||
| Justice, Equality and Affirmative Action | clxxxiii | ||
| A Defence of Preferential Treatment | clxxxvi | ||
| Logical Considerations | clxxxvii | ||
| Is It a Logical Question at All? | cxci | ||
| Notes | cxcii | ||
| References | cxcii | ||
| Chapter 12: ETHICS, HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE LGBT DISCOURSE IN INDIA | cxciii | ||
| Introduction | cxciii | ||
| Historical Background | cxciv | ||
| NGO Politics | cxcvi | ||
| The Globalspeak of LGBT Rights | cci | ||
| Human Rights as Discourse | cciii | ||
| Ethical Stumbling Blocks | cciv | ||
| Example | cciv | ||
| Wild Anthropology among the Vulnerable Archaic | ccvi | ||
| Notes | ccviii | ||
| Chapter 13: DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE: LOCATING IN CONTEXT | ccxiii | ||
| Notes | ccxxiii | ||
| References | ccxxiii | ||
| Chapter 14: PUNISHMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS | ccxxv | ||
| Notes | ccxxxiii | ||
| References | ccxxxiii | ||
| Chapter 15: RIGHTS OF THE ‘MAD’ IN MENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES | ccxxxv | ||
| Critiques of the ‘Mainstream’ Psychiatry | ccxl | ||
| Rights as Democratic Sureties | ccxliii | ||
| Rights vs. Ethics | ccxlvi | ||
| W(h)ither then, Epistemology? | ccxlix | ||
| From the Ethics of the Impossible to the Ethics of the Real | ccl | ||
| Notes | cclvii | ||
| References | cclix | ||
| Chapter 16: CHOICE, LIFE AND THE (M)OTHER: TOWARDS ETHICS IN/OF ABORTION | cclxi | ||
| Notes | cclxxv | ||
| References | cclxxvi | ||
| Chapter 17: THE NATIONALIST PROJECT AND THE WOMEN’S QUESTION: A READING OF THE HOME AND THE WORLD AND NATIONALISM | cclxxix | ||
| Notes | cclxxxvi | ||
| References | cclxxxvii | ||
| Chapter 18: ON THE IDEA OF OBLIGATION TO FUTURE GENERATIONS | cclxxxix | ||
| Note | ccxciv | ||
| References | ccxciv | ||
| Chapter 19: MORALITY IN CYBERSPACE: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION | ccxcv | ||
| The Metamorphosis of Cyberspace | ccxcvi | ||
| A Clash of Rights | ccxcvii | ||
| Arguments in Favour of Intellectual Property Rights | ccxcix | ||
| Two Types of Rights and Two Types of Goods | ccc | ||
| Arguments against the Right to Profit from Intellectual Goods | ccci | ||
| Intellectual Property and Moral Rights | ccciv | ||
| Notes | cccv | ||
| References | cccvi | ||
| Chapter 20: VIOLENCE – A RIGHT TO THE SURVIVAL OF THE SELF? | cccvii | ||
| Mr. & Mrs. Iyer | cccvii | ||
| Ethics of Surviving Selves | cccix | ||
| Ahmedabad: Meta-name of Violence or Meto-nym of Violence, or Both? | cccx | ||
| A Further Question… | cccxiii | ||
| A Dying Race | cccxiv | ||
| The Science of Survival: What Is | cccxviii | ||
| The Ethics of Survival: What Ought | cccxxii | ||
| Beyond the Pleasure Principle: Beyond Survival | cccxxiii | ||
| Beyond Mere Cannibalism | cccxxiv | ||
| Forms of Othering: Forms of Violence | cccxxv | ||
| Ethics Beyond Cannibalism and Hegemony | cccxxvi | ||
| Notes | cccxxviii | ||
| References | cccxxxiii | ||
| Chapter 21: ‘MORAL OBLIGATION’ TO FIGHT FOR THE PREVENTION OF GREATER CALAMITY: A DEBATE BETWEEN SADHARANA DHARMA AND SVA DHARMA | cccxxxv | ||
| Notes | cccliv | ||
| References | cccliv | ||
| Chapter 22: GLOBALISATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS | ccclvii | ||
| Human Rights: A Historical Perspective | ccclviii | ||
| Impact of Globalisation | ccclxii | ||
| Positive and Negative Factors of Globalisation | ccclxiv | ||
| Notes | ccclxvii | ||
| References | ccclxvii | ||
| End Matter | ccclxix | ||
| NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS | ccclxix |