Excursus I: Values and Human Rights

Abstract

This chapter, “Values and Human Rights,” explores the complex interplay between human rights, values, and societal dynamics within the European context. While the European Human Rights Convention and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights mention values, their relationship remains elusive. The chapter delves into the vagueness of “common values” and their connection to peace and examines the tensions between universality, individual rights, and societal contexts. The evolution of human rights reveals a shift from freedom-based rights towards equality-oriented claims. The chapter scrutinizes the dual nature of human rights, serving as protections against harm and as expressions of demands for societal standards. It highlights the challenges of justifying human rights, especially amid shifting social paradigms, and the potential for values discourse to provide a flexible foundation for their functional stabilization. Ultimately, the chapter underscores the intricate and evolving nature of human rights and their dependence on ongoing societal negotiations.

This excursus is based on a lecture that I delivered under the title “Using/needing human rights. On the philosophical relevance of their historicity” at the Colloquium Rauricum on August 28, 2015, at Castelen/Augst. A complete version is due to appear in 2016 in the book of the Colloquia Raurica conference proceedings on human rights edited by Kurt Seelmann.