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Universal Human Rights brings new clarity to the important and
highly contested concept universal human rights. The Charter of the
United Nations commits nearly all nations of the world to promote,
to realize and take action to achieve human rights and fundamental
freedoms for all, yet this formal consensus masks an underlying
confusion about the philosophical basis and practical implications
of rights in a world made up of radically different national
communities. This collection of essays explores the foundations of
universal human rights in four sections devoted to their nature,
application, enforcement and limits, concluding that shared rights
help to constitute a universal human community, which supports
local customs and separate state sovereignty. Rights protect the
benefits of cultural diversity, while recognizing the universal
dignity that every human life deserves. The eleven contributors to
this volume demonstrate from their very different perspectives how
human rights can help to bring moral order to an otherwise divided
world.
In the last years of his life, Gerald C. MacCallum, Jr. defied
illness to continue his work on the philosophy of law. This book is
a monument to MacCallum's effort, containing fourteen of his
essays, five of them published here for the first time. Two of
those previously published are widely admired and reprinted:
"Legislative Intent", certainly one of the best papers published on
its topic, and "Negative and Positive Freedom", which offered a new
way of looking at a distinction that had been canonical for the
last two centuries. To complete MacCallum's unfinished pieces,
Marcus G. Singer and Rex Martin painstakingly consulted MacCallum's
notes for planned revisions. MacCallum discusses legal reasoning,
the application of rules, the interpretation of statutes and
constitutional provisions, and the relation of these matters to
morality and justice. In the last decade of his working life, he
became greatly concerned with the interrelated themes of integrity,
autonomy, conscience, and violence. He became interested in the
relations between competition and morality and between justice and
adversarial systems of law. These themes are woven together in
Legislative Intent and constitute the main subject of some of the
essays. MacCallum was engaged in a constant search for truth and
understanding and in his life and work lived up to Emerson's vision
of the "American Scholar" as "Man Thinking". These essays are
informed by the author's deep curiosity, penetrating intelligence,
wide knowledge, and outstanding character. They will be treasured
wherever these characteristics and true philosophy are treasured.
An Essay on Metaphysics (1940) is one of the finest works of the great Oxford philosopher R. G. Collingwood (1889-1943): in it he considers the nature of philosophy, especially of metaphysics, and puts forward his original and influential theories of absolute presuppositions, causation, and the logic of question and answer. Three fascinating unpublished pieces by Collingwood have been added for this revised edition: they illuminate and amplify the ideas of the Essay, to which they are closely related. The editor Rex Martin contributes a substantial introduction telling the story of the composition of all these works, discussing their major themes, and setting them in the context of Collingwood's philosophy as a whole.
An Essay on Metaphysics is one of the finest works of the great
Oxford philosopher, historian, and archaeologist R. G. Collingwood
(1889-1943). First published in 1940, it is a broad-ranging work in
which Collingwood considers the nature of philosophy, especially of
metaphysics. He puts forward his well-known doctrine of absolute
presuppositions, expounds a logic of question and answer, and gives
an original and influential account of causation. The book has been
widely read and much discussed ever since. In this revised edition
the complete original text is accompanied by three previously
unpublished essays by Collingwood which will be essential reading
for any serious student of his thought: `The Nature of Metaphysical
Study' (1934), `The Function of Metaphysics in Civilization'
(1938), and `Notes for a Essay on Logic' (1939). These fascinating
writings illuminate and amplify the ideas of the Essay, to which
they are closely related. The distinguished philosopher and
Collingwood scholar Rex Martin has established authoritative
versions of these new texts, added a short set of notes on the
Essay, and contributed a substantial introduction explaining the
story of the composition of all these works, discussing their major
themes, and setting them in the context of Collingwood's philosophy
as a whole.
The justification of political authority is one of the
long-standing issues of political philosophy, and one which
persistently defies satisfactory solution. In this paperback
edition of a highly successful study, Professor Martin sets out to
provide an original justification by establishing a background
framework for dealing with the problem. He begins by identifying
the main elements of political authority, arguing that they need to
be linked in order to create a political authority that can be
described as justified. He then sketches a framework - a sample
system of political institutions and conceptions which is
internally coherent - to link these elements. The rest of the book
fills in this outline. Professor Martin argues that rights are
established patterns of acting or of being treated and are hence
essentially institutional in character. The institutions that tend
to be the most supportive and productive of individual rights are,
he believes, democratic, and the central section of the book is
devoted to the connection of rights with majority rule, democratic
political institutions and conceptions. From this nexus, secondary
lines are traced to political obligation (or allegiance) and to an
eligible justification for using punishment to enforce the rights
of individuals. Thus Professor Martin's analysis forms a
distinctive and systematic approach to one particular style of
government. This rethinking of some of the main topics in political
theory is long overdue; it yields some striking conclusions about
both the nature of rights and the nature of political authority
itself. Reviews for the hardback edition: `analytical political
theory at its best...thoroughly worked through, illuminating, and
persuasive' Political Studies `he dicusses knowledgeably yet
imaginatively one sort of political and legal system...I
unreservedly assert that his institutional conception of rights
deserves to be taken seriously as a very plausible alternative to
the more familiar theories of Hart, Feinberg, Dworkin and Raz.
Equally important are his discussions of the nature of democracy
and the internal justification of punishment. Most impressive of
all is his detailed demonstration of the internal coherence of the
system of rights sketched in this book' Ethics `his book is
valuable for presenting a distinctively political view of
rights...the book is impressively scholarly, with references, when
relevant, to most of the voluminous literature on rights. In this
respect A System of Rights is a model work of philosophy: at once
thoroughly steeped in the literature on its topic and rising above
that literature to propose a novel, distinctive view' Mind `a
rewarding and impressive book, which deals with a wide range of
issues central to political philosophy in an interesting and
original way. In this carefully argued examination and
justification of a particular political system, Rex Martin offers
an original account of rights, and links these rights with other
political conceptions and institutions...to forms what he calls a
"system of rights"...his discussion is rich and nuanced, and
provides the philosophical groundwork for clearer thinking about
the difficult and elusive relationship between rights and
democracy' Canadian Journal of Political Science `What makes
Martin's book so trenchant is that it can be read with great profit
from different points of view...The broad scope and provocative
arguments of Martin's work assure that it will be a focal point in
philosophically-orientated debate on rights' Ratio Juris `Rex
Martin has written the most important analysis and justification of
political authority and obligation since T. H. Green's Lectures on
the Principles of Political Obligation... [A System of Rights is]
rich in argument and unorthodox conclusions' Gerald F. Gaus,
Philosophy and Phenomenological Research
The justification of political authority is one of the
long-standing issues of political philosophy, and one which
persistently defies satisfactory solution. This book sets out to
provide an original justification by establishing a background
framework for dealing with the problem. Rex Martin begins by
identifying the main elements of authority, arguing that they need
to be linked in order to create a political authority that can be
described as justified. He then sketches a framework - a sample
system of political institutions and conceptions which is
internally coherent - to link these elements. The rest of the book
fills in this outline. Professor Martin argues that rights are
established patterns of acting or of being treated and are hence
essentially institutional in character. The institutions that tend
to be the most supportive, and productive, of individual rights
are, he believes, democratic, and the central section of the book
is devoted to the connection of rights with majority rule
democratic political institutions and conceptions. From this nexus
secondary lines of connection are traced to political obligation
(or allegiance) and to an eligible justification for using
punishment to enforce the rights of individuals. Thus Professor
Martin's analysis forms a distinctive and systematic approach to
one particular state of government. This rethinking of some of the
main topics of political theory is long overdue; it yields some
striking conclusions about both the nature of rights and the nature
of political authority itself.
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