Publication details
Utilitaristická teorie lidských práv jako explanační projekt
| Title in English | Utilitarian Theory of Human Rights as an Explanatory Project |
|---|---|
| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Pravník |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | Open access článku |
| Keywords | utilitarianism; human rights; justificatory project; explanatory project |
| Description | Martin Hapla’s new book is a systematic monograph on the relationship between utilitarianism and human rights. The author declares that the focus of this work is a justificatory project. That is, human rights are morally right because they are utilitarian good. In my response, I will try to show that the crux of Hapla’s work actually lies in a different project, which is more explanatory in nature. I will formulate an elementary reconstruction of that project by means of three theses: 1) The straw man thesis: The criticism that utilitarian conclusions contradict moral intuitions, or human rights, is based on the false premise that utilitarianism ignores morally relevant facts, especially about human nature. 2) The translation thesis: The criticism that utilitarianism ignores morally significant values overlooks the point that utilitarianism reflects these values in terms of empirical facts. 3) The empirical explanation thesis: Utilitarianism seeks to minimize normative or value ideology and maximize working with empirical facts. This analysis of the facts, when done correctly, can ultimately explain why we prefer a particular ideology. |
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