Universal Values or Particular Agendas – Can We Still Speak Credibly of Human Rights? .......... 159

Authors

Jakob Cornides

Synopsis

When we speak about human rights, the pre-supposition usually is that we all agree on what we understand by that term. But do we really? The affirmation of the universality of human rights conceals a bitter reality: while on the surface pompous human rights rhetoric gathers widest support, beneath it a hidden cultural war appears to be going on. The post-1968 cultural mainstream in the US and Western Europe uses the language and institutions of human rights to impose a system of “values” that are not universally shared. Ultimately what lies beneath conflicts on single issues (such as abortion, the legal recognition of same-sex “marriages”, or the removal of crucifixes from the class rooms in public schools) ap-pears to be a more fundamental conflict between different anthropologies. One of these diverging anthropologies derives from the concept of human dignity a radical autonomy of each human person, whereas the other views dignity as a source both of rights and du-ties. Radical subjectivism stands against the belief in an objective moral law, arbitrariness against reason, and a “political” against an ontological concept of human rights.

Author Biography

Jakob Cornides

Doctor Cornides works as a trade negotiator for the European Commission, specializing in IPR and public procurement (previously worked for the European Commission’s GD for Health and Consumer Protection). He is the author of publications on public and private law, including human rights. He was invited to the conference in his personal capacity; his contributions to the discussion therefore represented his own views and can in no wa y be attributed to the institution in which he is employed.

Forthcoming

23 July 2013

Series

How to Cite

Cornides, J. (2013) “Universal Values or Particular Agendas – Can We Still Speak Credibly of Human Rights? . 159”, in Mazur, K. and Musiewicz, P. (eds.) Promoting Changes in Times of Transition and Crisis: Reflections on Human Rights Education. Poland: Księgarnia Akademicka Publishing (Societas), pp. 159–181. doi:10.12797/9788376383651.12.