Something I have contemplated in the past (see here, here, here, and here), is when, as humans evolved from other species, the more general animal/Sentient Life rights specialised into also having a sub-section referred to as human rights.
I did that in good measure largely as an exercise to promote care for other life forms, but I now came across an idea for the dividing point(s), which is:
rights come into existence when the capabilities they protect come into existence.
Thus, at this stage of existence, mostly only humans can speak (sound boards and sign language are extending that to other sentient life), so we need protection of the right to speak.
Birds can fly, so they have a right to be able to fly that humans (outside of planes) do not have (although we need to see the sky, etc).
Rights are to allow, protect, enable and welcome expression of essential characteristics - such as connecting with others (including family, friends, as organised groups), and generally being able to live well without robbing others of their rights.
That means violence, social status, and inequality are not essential and thus are NOT rights.
It also means animals may have rights we do not - for example, marine life has the right to a clean marine world - oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, and wetlands/coastal zones (although we have a right to clean, safe, and palatable drinking water etc). The profit and/or personal convenience of corporations is NOT greater than that right - and arguments about the benefits to employees etc are nothing more than an admission of a progressive conspiracy to rob others of their rights using a constructed pretext.
The right to life, of course, exists as soon as Sentient Life exists ... and is complicated by the existence of carnivores, although they tend to avoid excessive consumption (unlike humans), and omnivores such as humans can and should, at this stage of the evolution of our capabilities, choose to avoid carnism.
Possible flaws
Where I can, I will try to highlight possible flaws / issues you should consider:
- there may be flawed logical arguments in the above: to find out more about such flaws and thinking generally, I recommend Brendan Myers’ free online course “Clear and Present Thinking”;
- I could be wrong - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.
If you appreciated this post, please consider promoting it - there are some links below, and there’s also other options.
Note that I am cutting back on aspects of my posts - see here.
(Gnwmythr is pronounced new-MYTH-ear)
Remember: we generally need to be more human being rather than human doing, to mind our Mӕgan, and to acknowledge that all misgendering is an act of active transphobia/transmisia that puts trans+ lives at risk & accept that all insistence on the use of “trans” as a descriptor comes with commensurate use of “cis” as a descriptor to prevent “othering” (just as binary gendered [men’s and women’s] sporting teams are either both given the gender descriptor, or neither).#PsychicABetterWorld and may all that I do be of value and actively BPM used for and by the nonphysical BPM because #KindnessIsThePoint
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