Making Sense of Human Rights

This fully revised and extended edition of James Nickel’s classic study explains and defends the conception of human rights found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and subsequent human rights treaties. Combining philosophical, legal, and political approaches, Nickel addresses questions about what human rights are, what their content should be, and whether and how they can be justified. After outlining the contemporary conception of human rights, and developing and applying an original framework for the justification of particular rights, Nickel goes on to defend contemporary lists of human rights, covering fundamental freedoms, due process rights, social rights, and minority rights. The book also considers the issue of cultural relativism and the prospects for worldwide acceptance of human rights. Making Sense of Human Rights is suitable for use as a text in university and law school courses on human rights. The texts of key human rights documents and treaties are included as appendixes.

Introduction. 1. The Contemporary Idea of Human Rights. 2. Human Rights as Rights. 3. Making Sense of Human Rights. 4. Starting Points for Justifying Rights. 5. A Framework for Justifying Specific Rights. 6. The List Question. 7. Due Process Rights and Terrorist Emergencies. 8. Economic Liberties as Fundamental Freedoms. 9. Social Rights as Human Rights. 10. Minority Rights. 11. Eight Responses to the Relativist. 12. The Good Sense in Human Rights. Bibliography and References. Appendixes. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The European Convention on Human Rights. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Index

James W. Nickel is Professor of Law and Affiliate Professor of Philosophy at Arizona State University. From 1982 to 2002 he was Professor of Philosophy at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Nickel publishes in political philosophy, human rights theory, and the philosophy of law. In 2004 he was a Visiting Fellow at Corpus Christi College, Oxford University.

"This is an outstanding book. Nickel sets a new standard for clear thinking on this crucial topic. No book comes close as an introduction to the theory of human rights." Leif Wenar, University of Sheffield "The new edition of James Nickel′s classic work is a major contribution to the philosophical study of human rights. The book will be widely admired for its clarity and range and for the power and creativity of its arguments." John Tasioulas, University of Oxford