Intergenerational Rights: A Philosophical Examination

In Patricia Hanna (ed.), An Anthology of Philosophical Studies, Vol. 5. Athens Institute of Education and Research (2011)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

One of the primary views on our supposed obligation towards our descendants in the context of environmental problems invokes the idea of the rights of future generations. A growing number of authors also hold that the descendants of those victimized by historical injustices, including colonialism and slavery, have the right to demand financial reparations for the sufferings of their distant ancestors. However, these claims of intergenerational rights face theoretical difficulties, notably the non-identity problem. To circumvent this problem in a relationship between present and future generations, some rights theorists replace future individual rights with such collective rights. Others advance the threshold conception of harm in discussing intergenerational relationships in general. Despite the significant implications these revisionist views might have, few efforts have been made to scrutinize their solidity. To plug such a gap in the literature, this paper examines to what extent the collective understanding of intergenerational rights is pertinent. I also explore the virtues and drawbacks of the threshold interpretation of harm. The paper concludes by suggesting that the motivation behind these and other versions of the rights theory suffers from the ambiguity of a traditional dichotomy between perfect and imperfect duties.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 90,616

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

The Non-Identity Problem, Collective Rights, and the Threshold Conception of Harm.Makoto Usami - 2011 - Tokyo Institute of Technology Department of Social Engineering Discussion Paper (2011-04):1-17.
Intergenerational Justice: The Rights of Future People or the Duty of Fair Play.Makoto Usami - 2011 - Tokyo Institute of Technology Department of Social Engineering Discussion Paper (2011-05):1-19.
The identity and (legal) rights of future generations.Ori J. Herstein - 2009 - The George Washington Law Review 77:1173.
Collective Rights and Minority Rights.Seumas Miller - 2000 - International Journal of Applied Philosophy 14 (2):241-257.
The nature and basis of inalienable rights.Terrance McConnell - 1984 - Law and Philosophy 3 (1):25 - 59.
Subsistence Needs, Human Rights, and Imperfect Duties.Simon Hope - 2013 - Journal of Applied Philosophy 30 (1):88-100.
Natural Rights to Welfare.Siegfried Van Duffel - 2011 - European Journal of Philosophy 21 (4):641-664.
The structure of basic human rights.George E. Panichas - 1985 - Law and Philosophy 4 (3):343 - 375.

Analytics

Added to PP
2013-03-15

Downloads
56 (#255,809)

6 months
5 (#247,092)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Makoto Usami
Kyoto University

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

No references found.

Add more references