by Colin Trierweiler

Created on: September 16, 2009

Much has been debated over what rights human beings should be entitled to. Before we dive into such questions, perhaps we could examine the fundamental concept of rights. Rights give us a positive way to express rules. Instead of the negative "thou shalt not kill", we can say "all people have the right to life". Wording ethical codes as rights instead of rules helps people focus on what they can do instead of what they can not do. People are more willing to listen and follow such a code, too.

Negatively phrased ideas foster disobedience because people have a tendency to ignore the small word "not" and focus on the subject of the sentence. If I tell someone not to think of a pink elephant, they probably will since I've mentioned the idea. If I really did not want that person to think about a pink elephant, I would talk about something else entirely. Prohibitive laws draw our attention towards crimes, and given the rebellious nature of human beings, it is not surprising that laws are frequently broken.

Granting people rights does necessarily prohibit certain things. For example, by granting people a right to life, you thereby take away their right to murder. However, the phrasing of rights makes them sound like they give people something, instead of taking something away. This is why ethical codes phrased as rights resonate with people far better because people naturally like to hear what they are capable of. In contrast to laws stating what we can not do, rights stating what can do focus our attention on the positive aspects of adhering to a set of ethics. Look at the American Bill of Rights, or the UN's Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man. Both of these systems ring true to many people, and if they were taken to heart by more people, world peace would move a step closer towards being a reality.

In conclusion, when assessing theories of human rights, instead of asking what rights we should allow people to have, we could ask what kind of behavior we want to encourage. If we approach the issue with this perspective, it becomes more likely that this amicable behavior will emerge. No matter how good it sounds in writing, the most important part of any ethical code shows when people take the ideas to heart and actually apply them in their daily lives.

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