Board Comment: Philosophy/Ethics
QUESTIONS:
We often think of America as the global leader in human rights. Yet America may fall
short of achieving human rights in a number of areas, as the New York Times reported
in 2012 and as Human Rights Watch argued in 2017. (Click on links)
After reading the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, discuss how
Kantian (deontological) ethics influenced the idea of general human rights- Which of the
rights do you believe are most important and why? Which are violated today in the
United States? Are any human rights provided formally (written in laws and our
Constitution) but not exercised substantially (in practice)? Explain your response-