Understanding Morality, Ethics, Justice, and Human Rights
Morality and Ethics
Similarities
Morality and ethics both refer to the way people conduct their lives through their actions, habits, and customs. They are intended to guide human behavior.
Differences
- Morality (M): A form of human behavior regulated by norms, customs, and prevailing values in society.
- Ethics (E): A philosophical reflection on moral rules and the consequences of human action.
- M: Originates from a group or social institution.
- E: Arises from rationality.
- M: Often reflected in a code.
- E: Not necessarily reflected in a social code.
- M: Requires obedience.
- E: Is autonomous.
- M: Tends to be closed.
- E: Is open.
- M: Provides security and cohesion.
- E: Accepts risk and solitude.
Justice
Conception
Justice is the moral value of excellence in community life.
Justice and Equality
Considerations include gender politics and law.
Justice and Freedom
The political community must seek conditions where freedom can be developed.
Justice and Certainty
Certainty offered by the law guarantees certain values, actions, and freedoms.
Justice Defined
Justice is giving each his own, what belongs to him; the rules must be consistent with human rights.
Features of Justice
- Standard valuation of the legal-political organization: justice as the foundation of the rule of law.
- Rational argument against illegitimate power: justice and political-moral appeal against abuses of power.
- Ideal or social utopia: justice as a task and a horizon to strive towards.
Theory of Justice
Justice as Proportional Equality
- Commutative Justice: Equality in the exchange of goods between individuals.
- Distributive Justice: Equal distribution of goods and burdens by the state according to the needs and merits of citizenship.
Justice and Happiness
Happiness, welfare, and social needs. The rights and basic freedoms are ways to maximize collective happiness. This is a precursor to the defense of individual liberties.
Justice as Fairness
- Principle of equality in freedoms or rights.
- Principle of equal opportunities for all.
- Take measures to address differences in the distribution of benefits only on the condition that it benefits the most disadvantaged.
Human Rights
Features
Innate, universal, inalienable, priority, non-negotiable, inviolable, and inalienable.
Areas
- Legal: Function as legal guarantees to protect.
- National Laws: The constitution of each country.
- International Law: The High Commissioner for Human Rights, International Criminal Court.
- Morally: Moral demands that people claim to public authorities when they are not legally recognized. Duties of conscience and personal protection.
- Utopian: They express the ideals and goals of our society.
The Three Generations of Human Rights
1st Generation: Rights of Freedom
Political and civil liberties, individual rights, and political participation: the right to life, freedom of conscience and movement, right of association and political participation. Revolutionary liberals of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. State of the liberal tradition. Moral value: freedom.
2nd Generation: Rights of Equality
Economic, social, and cultural rights: right to work and fair pay, housing, health, education, and culture. Workers’ movement during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, social state of law. Moral value of equality.
3rd Generation: Rights of Solidarity
Right to a healthy environment, peace, development. Social movement from the second half of the twentieth century until today. Requires an effort of solidarity among all nations and peoples of the Earth. Moral value: solidarity.
The Human Rights Struggle
- A struggle to keep open the legal systems and institutional rules.
- Reply to motivate continuing unjust laws.
- Monitor the application of institutional rules.
- Stimulate the creation of alternatives for the permanent improvement of laws and institutions.
- Encourage the citizenry to combat violence, abuse, humiliation, war, exploitation, and discrimination.
- Promote the right to dissent and solidarity with the victims.