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Ethics And Rights Essay

¶ … right, a legal right, a moral right, a human right. How are they related? Rights are privileges or entitlements to perform particular actions, or to be in particular state/situations; or privileges/entitlements to carry out certain actions or be in particular states. Rights are the cornerstone of the modern comprehension of what actions are allowed or permissible and which institutions are fair and just. Rights structure the content of laws, the form of governments, and shape morality as it is currently viewed (Wenar, 2005).

A legal right

Legal rights are rights which exist under the constitutions and laws of legal systems or by the virtue of decisions by the appropriate legal authorities (Campbell, 2001).

A human right

Human rights have been defined in many circles as essential moral guarantees that people and cultures in all countries apparently have for the simple reason that they are human beings. Thus human rights are often held to be universal, due to the fact that all peoples should enjoy them. Human rights are also regarded as independent in the sense that they exist as standards of criticism and justification, whether they are acknowledged and implemented by officials and legal systems of a country (Nickel, 1987).

A moral right

Rights that a creator of copyrighted work has with regards to ownerships and control of the said work, as recognized and enforced by some common and civil law jurisdictions (What are moral rights? definition and meaning, n.d.).

It is widely thought that social justice can only be achieved when individuals in a society enjoy human rights, that is, they have and do make moral claims and can also, by virtue of being human beings, make legal claims against other people/institutions for what morally belongs to them (Morality, n.d.).

2. What three...

The phrase moral right infers the following: (1) moral standards, in terms of behavior; (2) moral responsibility, of course with regards to our conscience as people; and (3) a moral identity, the capability of choosing a right or wrong action (Morality, n.d.).
3. How do we know that people have rights? What is the basis of the moral rights according to a utilitarian view? According to Immanuel Kant?

Every individual is entitled to particular fundamental rights, which cannot be taken away from them by virtue of being human. These are known as "human rights" rather than a privilege (which can be withdrawn at the whim of another person). They are "rights" because they are actions or things that an individual is allowed to do, to have or to be. These rights exist for the protection against individuals who might want to hurt or harm others. They are also there to encourage harmony between people and also to encourage people to live in peace with each other (WHAT ARE HUMAN RIGHTS? Human Rights Defined, n.d).

A "utilitarian" argument, basically suggests that people have to do something since it will result in more total happiness that doing any other action would. Act utilitarianism (AU), is a popular moral theory that argues that the morally right action (the act that everyone has a moral duty to do), is the one that will most likely maximize "utility" (well-being, happiness, welfare). A "utilitarian" argument is all about the suggestion that individuals should do some actions because of its "good consequences" or on the other hand not to perform some actions because of its "bad consequences," this argument suggests that good or bad consequences need not be restricted to what increases or reduces happiness but…

Sources used in this document:
References

Campbell, K. (2001, December 20). Legal Rights. Retrieved July 16, 2015, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/legal-rights/

CHAPTER THREE: The Market and Business (n.d.). Retrieved July 17, 2015 from www.institutobios.org/velazquezch3.doc

Morality. (n.d.). Retrieved July 17, 2015, from http://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/morality.ht from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/right

Nickel, J.W. (1987). Making sense of human rights: Philosophical reflections on the universal declaration of human rights. Univ of California Press.
from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/right
July 17, 2015 from http://web.nmsu.edu/~dscoccia/321web/321ethicstheory.pdf
Wenar, L. (2005, December 19). Rights. Retrieved July 16, 2015, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rights/
WHAT ARE HUMAN RIGHTS? Human Rights Defined (n.d.). Retrieved July 17, 2015, from http://www.youthforhumanrights.org/what-are-human-rights.html
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