Persons, Rights, and the Moral Community

Download or read book Persons, Rights, and the Moral Community written by Loren E. Lomasky and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1990-07-26 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a complete and convincing account of what rights we do and do not have, who has them, and why. Presenting the foundations of a liberal, individualistic theory of rights, Lomasky explains the place of rights within the overall structure of morality, arguing for the moral importance of individual commitments to and pursuit of "projects." After developing his theory of basic rights, Lomasky demonstrates its implications for a variety of problems and issues, including property rights, the rights of children, and the status of the unborn, defective persons, animals, and even the dead. Arguing for a fundamental reshaping of philosophical ethics, Lomasky develops a credible alternative to currently fashionable views.