Holte's corner

Basics of Human rights - Freedom

We owe a debt of gratitude to the founders of this country and to our
ancestors for defining principles and goals which we usually refer to
as 'rights'. The founding fathers expressed that people are endowed
with "inalienable rights" and laid the source for those rights as "from
the creator." We can repay the debt of gratitude we owe them by putting
aside sophistry and weak logic and putting these goals and principles
into solid logic so that people can be clear about what rights are, how
they are defined, what they aren't, and why we should have the rights
we assert in a world where people profane reigion to use G-d as their
reason for violating them. The logic of rights is clear and simple if
people will just think clearly.

The fundmental rights are based on the common goals of mankind. These
goals are expressed as abstractions. The kind of abstraction we are
talking about is a very generalized vision. The most fundamental common
goal of people is expressed in terms like "happiness"
or "enlightenment" which can be expressed as abstracted visions or
pictures of the ideal state of the individual in conjunction with the
community. All rights are founded on the conditions necessary to
achieve these abstract states like "happiness" or "heaven."

Happiness might be defined as a state of absolute freedom, equality,
achievement and extinction of all desires, compassion, wisdom,
knowledge of all good things, goodwill, and where the emotions that
results from these things (happiness endorphins) are present. Not ony
is the state abstract, but the conditions that contribute to that stte
are either abstract themselves or transitory.

The abstract vision of "happiness" makes a fitting ultimate goal
nevertheless, because while all the conditions described may not be
fullly realizable at any given moment, they form a common goal around
which definitions can be made which make it possible to travel towards
actualizing some approximation of that state. Thus the appropriate
associated right is the "right to pursue happiness." The State of
happiness forms a set of boundaries for the conditions that define that
state. And the abstracted conditions form abstract rights from which
concrete rights can be derived, defined, enforced, and maintained.

That set of boundaries is a "space or realm" of rights. And
essentially the act of defining rights is the act of spelling out human
realms. Essentially all rights derive from space.

The first two core rights therefore are "liberty" and "freedom." Sentient beings should be able to "pursue happiness" to their hearts content within their own "space." Liberties are those things we are at liberty to do. Freedom is the
space within which we are at liberty. Human beings are by definition
absolutely free within their human space, within the boundaries of time
space within which we dwell. The most fundamental right therefore that
we need is that of "owning" the space within which we dwell. We should
be absolutely free within our own space.

Our own space can also be defined as at the minimum our "personal
sphere." Thus being free and sovereign within our private person,
papers and effects is a first right we all must assert in order to
function freely.

Freedom is necessary to be 'ourselves' -- to do the things we do best.
To be "all that we can be." In order to pursue happiness.

The next set of abstract rights derive from the boundary conditions
that define us as human beings. Just as we want to be free within our
own realms, we also have a fundamental need to be secure from
infringement on our own rights. The opposite of freedom is slavery --
to be owned or controlled by another. Thus the boundary condition for
freedom is that our freedom is defined by our boundaries with others.

The next right is therefore an interface between our realm and that of
our neighbors. We need "justice" -- or the right to be "secure in our
person. To own what is ours, to not suffer theft, conversion, or
intrusion from others." Justice interfaces between our freedom and
liberty and that of others. It's definition is that others
don't "infringe" on the rights and permissions of others. Group rights
re intended to protect groups of individuals, but ultimately what needs
protection are the rights and liberties of the indidual, because the
happiness of the group is the expression of the sum of the happiness of
each individual. Injustice creates unhappiness, denies liberty and
stiffles freedom. Justice enforces boundaries that enable happiness,
prevents infringement, and enables each person the liberty to maximize
the expression of themselves.

These are the "fundamental" rights because they define the limits or
boundary space in which we can most successfully pursue happiness in a
society where we have to interact with other human beings. They are
abstract rights, but they help define the specific ennabling rights
that make them a reality.

(part 1)

Chris

Posted by cholte at March 12, 2007 05:34 PM