Bentham's critical statements on the Declaration of Human Rights of the French revolutionaries are supposed to be merely of historical value, as directed against a dated formulation. Against this, it is argued that the essential point of Bentham's argument is valid against any intuitivist interpretation of human rights (that is, against interpretations that take human rights as ultimate, absolute data) but are agreeable with an interpretation that takes Human Rights to be preferred lines of action that are normally conducive to (...) the greatest general hapiness. (shrink)

The relationship between Enlightenment and progress in David Hume is presented and discussed in the context of the Scottish Enlightenment. It is asserted that Hume’s thoughts on progress, although similar to those exposed by some of his contemporaries, are characterized by a sober conception of human action on history. Hume’s political and social philosophy proposes an interesting critical philosophy of history and progress, avoiding the undesirable extremes of naïveté and pessimism.