What Human Rights?

[Pyrrho]

Do you believe in human rights? What do you include in these? What is it that gives anyone a right? 

Remember, I DON'T mean legal rights. I mean something more, in nature, whatever that is, that entitles (is that the word I want?) a person to enjoy certain benefits, and that as a right it is others' duty not to impose or negate that right.

I don't know what you mean by "human rights."  I took a look at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_and_legal_rights

That does not really help me much.  It sounds like a good deal of nonsense.  But perhaps it could be understood in a way in which it is derived from feelings, in which case I might be inclined to think it is not just gibberish.

If you do not believe a person has anything like a natural, universal right, then how does that affect your beliefs/actions IRL circumstances when the issue of so-called violations (of life, liberty, property, etc.) comes up?

I doubt it makes much difference for how people act.  Human feelings motivate actions, and so those who feel it is wrong to harm others will be affected, regardless of whether they believe in some abstract rights or not.  And those who do not feel it is wrong to harm others will be influenced by their feelings, regardless of whether they believe in some abstract rights or not.

My guess is, the original motivation to believe in the abstract rights is from feeling.  (I state "original" because once other people have a belief, many times they can spread the belief without others having quite the same feelings.)

We can see from various nonhuman animal studies in which there appears to be moral behavior, and a sense of right and wrong.  See, for example:

http://www.livescience.com/24802-animals...-book.html

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg2...in-animals

http://www.npr.org/2014/08/15/338936897/...ave-morals

http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/041612.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/10...59579.html


I doubt that this comes from some great understanding of abstract principles.  Also, many humans have a good deal of trouble understanding very abstract principles, but that does not seem to stop them from engaging in behavior that seems guided by some sense of morality.