Keeping Faith with Human Rights

by Linda F. Hogan, Linda Hogan

Overview

The human rights regime is one of modernity's great civilizing triumphs. From the formal promulgation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 to the subsequent embrace of this declaration by the newly independent states of Africa, human rights have emerged as the primary discourse of global politics and as an increasingly prominent category in the international and domestic legal system. But throughout their history, human rights have endured sustained attempts at disenfranchisement.

In this provocative study, Linda Hogan defends human rights language while simultaneously reenvisioning its future. Avoiding problematic claims about shared universal values, Hogan draws on the constructivist strand of political philosophy to argue for a three-pronged conception of human rights: as requirements for human flourishing, as necessary standards of human community, and as the basis for emancipatory politics. In the process, she shows that it is theoretically possible and politically necessary for theologians to keep faith with human rights. Indeed, the Christian tradition—the wellspring of many of the ethical commitments considered central to human rights—must embrace its vital role in the project.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626162334
Publisher:	Georgetown University Press
Publication date:	09/15/2015
Series:	Moral Traditions series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Linda Hogan is vice provost / chief academic officer and a professor of ecumenics at Trinity College Dublin. She is the author of Confronting the Truth: Conscience in the Catholic Tradition and coeditor of Feminist Catholic Theological Ethics: Conversations in the World Church.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. The Crisis of Legitimacy: Political andPhilosophical Perspectives

2. The Crisis of Meaning: Theological Perspectives

3. Ethical Formations: Constructing the Subject ofHuman Rights

4. Building Discursive Bridges: Situated Knowledge, EmbeddedUniversalism, Plural Foundations

5. Resisting Culturalist Frameworks: Porous Communities,Constructed Traditions

6. Resisting Gravity’s Pull: Constructing Human Rightsthrough the Arts

Conclusion

Bibliography Index

What People are Saying About This

Conor Gearty

A book as deep as it is clear, one that gets under the skin of what human rights mean today—thoroughly contemporary but in a way that never loses sight of the power of the past to mold the present. A great achievement.

From the Publisher

"Hogan makes a most valuable contribution to the cause of human rights worldwide and across cultures. She mounts a persuasive case for the universality of human rights, addressing postcolonial, feminist, and postmodern critiques. An essential work."—David Hollenbach, SJ, University Chair in Human Rights and International Justice, Boston College

"A book as deep as it is clear, one that gets under the skin of what human rights mean today—thoroughly contemporary but in a way that never loses sight of the power of the past to mold the present. A great achievement."—Conor Gearty, Director, Institute of Public Affairs, London School of Economics

David Hollenbach

Hogan makes a most valuable contribution to the cause of human rights worldwide and across cultures. She mounts a persuasive case for the universality of human rights, addressing postcolonial, feminist, and postmodern critiques. An essential work.

Editorial Reviews

Hogan seeks to map a route towards the rehabilitation of the idea of human rights and proposes that it is 'both theoretically possible and politically necessary for theologians to keep faith with human rights.' She succeeds in her endeavour, going beyond her modestly stated ambition and delivering an impressive defence of what, arguably, is modernity’s greatest achievement. . . . An important work. It deserves to cause pause for thought before delivery of the next papal address at the UN.

Irish Times

An invaluable contribution to the politics, discourse, and field of human rights.

International Journal of Public Theology

Outstanding scholarship . . . Masterfully written.

Horizons

Hogan meticulously documents the last decade of scholarship highlighting the contributions of Arab, Asian, and Latin American delegations 'at every stage of the process'.

Springer Media