8 research outputs found

    Natural rights and liberty A critical examination of some late eighteenth-century debates in English political thought

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    SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DX186867 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

    Natural rights and liberty: A critical examination of some late eighteenth-century debates in English political thought

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    The purpose of the thesis is to explore the conception of natural rights and liberty in late eighteenth-century English political thought. It is argued that the conception of natural rights, or rights of man as they have been conventionally called, is a mixture of heterogenous and often contradictory theoretical assumptions. It is shown that the language of natural rights on the one hand, was increasingly dominated by utilitarian ideas, and on the other, was associated with a conception of moral agency — derived from treatises on morals and metaphysics — which rendered the rhetoric of natural rights especially appealing for purposes of reform. An attempt is made to illuminate in detail the way in which the right of private judgment was transferred from religion to politics. In distinguishing between the formation of thought, its expression, and acting in accordance with it, it is contended that the affinity between the arguments in defence of religious and political liberty lies in their common ground, that is, as rights concerning the expression of opinion. The exercise of such a right by all was deemed equally compatible and even conducive to the formation of the public interest. Although terms such as 'rights' and 'liberty' were often used synonymously, an attack on natural rights involved an analytical distinction between liberty and a right. The study investigates conceptual problems involved in attempts to define liberty in relation to law. It further discusses the tendency, common in many eighteenth-century writers, to confound liberty with other concepts such as utility, obedience, or wisdom. The primary sources used consist of a considerable number of pamphlets which have previously received little attention

    Price, Richard

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    Entry in International Encyclopedia of Ethics BOOK DESCRIPTION: Unmatched in scholarship and scope, the International Encyclopedia of Ethics is the most comprehensive and authoritative ethics resource of its kind. Available online or as an eleven-volume print set, the Encyclopedia espouses a broad vision of ethics that creates links to many other disciplines, including medicine, technology studies, computer science, business, religion, and law. Entries range in size from shorter definitions and biographies to extended treatments of major topics, and have been blind-reviewed by both the editorial team and an independent review board to ensure exceptional balance and accuracy throughout. Building on its established strengths, the second edition of the Encyclopedia covers topics, movements, arguments, and figures in normative ethics, metaethics, and applied ethics, containing over 850 fully-cross-referenced A-Z entries which emphasize the richness and diversity of the field. New to this edition are more than 300 original and updated entries which add coverage of contemporary topics including voting ethics, artificial intelligence, moral uncertainty, police bias, narcissism, structural injustice, bullying, biopolitics, legal moralism, and intellectual virtue. In its state-of-the-art electronic form, each entry is hyperlinked to other entries and to electronic editions of the renowned Blackwell Companions and Guides ¯ in all, more than 1,500 scholarly articles. The electronic version will continue to receive annual updates, continuing the legacy of the International Encyclopedia of Ethics as the preferred resource for research-active scholars, students, and general readers wanting to engage with ethics in their professional lives

    Optimism, progress, and philosophical history

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    Natural rights in the Scottish Enlightenment

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    Naturalism, Anthropology and Culture

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    German natural law

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