Constitutional Law Codexery

Natural rights and legal rights

Natural rights are universal; legal rights depend on human laws.

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Natural rights are universal and inalienable, not dependent on any particular government or culture.[1] Some philosophers differentiate natural rights from legal rights, with natural rights being universal and not subject to repeal by human laws, whereas legal rights are established by those laws.[1] Theories of natural rights are the source from which the concept of human rights is derived.[2]

Quick Facts

Field
Philosophy of law, political philosophy
Known for
Distinction between natural rights (universal, inalienable) and legal rights (granted by legal systems)
Related concepts
  • Natural law
  • positive law
  • human rights
  • iusnaturalism

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

The concept was later developed in the Middle Ages by Catholic philosophers including Thomas Aquinas.[3] During the Age of Enlightenment, natural law was used to challenge the divine right of kings.[3] French theologian Jean Gerson's 1402 treatise is considered an early attempt at modern natural rights theory.[4] John Locke identified natural rights as life, liberty, and estate, arguing they could not be surrendered in the social contract.[5]

Some philosophers argue that legal rights are the only rights that exist.[6] Ancient Greek philosophy contains the earliest known references to natural law, and Cicero, a Roman philosopher, also mentioned it.[7] Francis Hutcheson was the thinker who first made the distinction between alienable and unalienable rights.[8]

What the cited sources add

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy notes that Locke defended the claim that men are by nature free and equal, with rights independent of any particular society's laws.[9] Locke used this claim to justify legitimate government as a social contract that conditionally transfers some rights to protect life, liberty, and property.[9] The same source states that natural law can be discovered by reason alone and applies to all people.[9] Broers confirms that Locke espoused natural rights to life, liberty, and property, and that every government's purpose is to secure these rights.[10]

Broers also notes that Locke's idea of natural equality transitions into society as men leave the state of nature.[10] The National Archives records that the Bill of Rights defines citizens' and states' rights in relation to the Government.[11]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Natural rights and legal rights" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Cambridge Handbook of Natural Law and Human Rights", Cambridge University Press, 2022 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Natural rights and legal rights" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jones, Peter. Rights. Palgrave Macmillan, 1994, pp. 72, 74.; Jones, Peter. Rights. Palgrave Macmillan, 1994, pp. 72, 74. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Natural rights and legal rights" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; Grellard, "Systèmes de pensées et de croyances médiévaux", École Pratique des Hautes Études. Section des Sciences Religieuses, 2022-05-31, p. 383–400 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Natural rights and legal rights" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tuck, Richard. Philosophy and Government 1572–1651 (1993), pp. 25–27. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Natural rights and legal rights" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Maier, Pauline (1983). American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993, p. 134. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Natural rights and legal rights" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "human rights – Natural law transformed into natural rights", Britannica; "human rights – Natural law transformed into natural rights", Britannica (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Natural rights and legal rights" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rommen, "The Natural Law: A Study in Legal and Social Philosophy", Liberty Publishing, 1998 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Natural rights and legal rights" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hutcheson, Francis (2004), An Inquiry into the Original of Our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue in Two Treatises (Indianapolis), pp. 192, 193. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Tuckness, "Locke's Political Philosophy", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2020. facts only, no text reused. plato.stanford.edu
  10. Broers, "John Locke on Equality, Toleration, and the Atheist Exception", Inquiries Journal, 2009. facts only, no text reused. inquiriesjournal.com
  11. "America's Founding Documents | National Archives", Archives.gov, 12 October 2016. facts only, no text reused. archives.gov

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Natural rights and legal rights (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Also in the Codexery

Natural rights and legal rights · Constitutional And Rights Law

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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