Amarty Sen's Defense of Strong Human Rights

In several important works, Amartya Sen defends the full range of human rights. A major focus of his defense is to invalidate Bentham's serious charge that natural rights (and by extension, human rights) are without foundation. As far as Bentham was concerned, it is irresponsible and dangerous to pull rights claims out of thin air. While most philosophers avoid Bentham's arguments, Sen attacks him directly. He does his best to invalidate Bentham and support the traditional vision of pre-existing, universal rights that can override customs, laws, cultural beliefs, religious teachings, etc. The point of this essay is to examine Sen's critique of Bentham. I argue that his treatment of Bentham is misguided, unfair, and ineffective; moreover, I contend that Bentham's concerns over unchecked, rights claims have proved to be prophetic.

Amarty Sen's Defense of Strong Human Rights Academic Article