From human rights to sentient rights

This article calls for a paradigm shift in the language, theory and practice of human rights: it calls for human rights to be reconceptualized as sentient rights. It argues that human rights are not qualitatively distinct from the basic entitlements of other sentient creatures, and that attempts to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCritical review of international social and political philosophy Vol. 16; no. 5; pp. 655 - 675
Main Author Cochrane, Alasdair
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 01.12.2013
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Animal rights
Conflict
Equity
Human Rights
Humanities
Humanity
interests
Language Shift
Paradigms
personhood
Political philosophy
Politics
Rights
sentient rights
Universalism
universality
Welfare
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Summary:This article calls for a paradigm shift in the language, theory and practice of human rights: it calls for human rights to be reconceptualized as sentient rights. It argues that human rights are not qualitatively distinct from the basic entitlements of other sentient creatures, and that attempts to differentiate human rights by appealing to something distinctive about humanity, their unique political function or their universality ultimately fail. Finally, the article claims that moving to sentient rights will not lead to intractable conflicts between rights, but to a more inclusive, fair and rationally defensible normative enterprise.
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ISSN:1369-8230
1743-8772
DOI:10.1080/13698230.2012.691235