The Applicability of Human Rights: A Voegelinian Interpretation

ABSTRACT

The human rights discourse is prevalent in our contemporary social and political setting. In large part it determines the way we understand justice and therefore plays a crucial role in shaping the way we think and act. But despite its prevalence and widespread acceptance, this discourse is not without its difficulties. One of the more persistent, significant, and well-documented problems associated with human rights is whether they are universal or relative in their application. The following essay attempts to confront this question from a novel and more informative perspective than the ones offered thus far. Analyzing the debate concerning the universality or relativity of human rights from within the intellectual framework of Eric Voegelin's philosophy of history, this essay endeavors to uncover the essence of human rights and thus bring to light their true function lest we burden them with tasks that are beyond their scope.