Poly Sci 402 Exam 1 Study Guide
1. Discuss how natural law, utilitarian, and deontological conceptions of rights differ. How are rights justified and conceptualized in each. For example, how would Locke, Mill, and Rawls each treat a right to free expression and a right to health care?
Natural law, natural rights - is that individuals have certain rights and liberty as a product of nature that they have these as a natural entitlement as opposed to an artificial creation of governments or the civil law - utilitarian is that rights really are justified to the extent that they provide good social consequence - deontological - Each member of society should be as free as possible, to the extent all can share the same amount of liberty: maximum liberty based on equality - Locke wouldn't support free expression because he focused more on the natural rights to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness. These natural rights existed prior to gov't therefore no government sponsored healthcare would have been supported by him. Mill (utilitarianism) - is what liberty or freedom there ought to be on the prior assumption that there will be no significant governmental limits on individual liberty in order to help individuals - highly objected censorship. Mill outlines the benefits of 'searching for and discovering the truth' as a way to further knowledge. He argued that even if an opinion is false, the truth can be better understood by refuting the error. Rawls - believes a liberal just society must honor a right to freedom of expression. Rawls healthcare - Though Rawls himself does not discuss health care, other writers have applied Rawls' theory to the provision of health care - For instance, Amartya Sen has argued that we should attend not only to the distribution of primary goods, but also how effectively people are able to use those goods to pursue their ends. In a related vein, Norman Daniels has wondered why healthcare shouldn't be treated as a primary good, and some of his subsequent
Natural law, natural rights - is that individuals have certain rights and liberty as a product of nature that they have these as a natural entitlement as opposed to an artificial creation of governments or the civil law - utilitarian is that rights really are justified to the extent that they provide good social consequence - deontological - Each member of society should be as free as possible, to the extent all can share the same amount of liberty: maximum liberty based on equality - Locke wouldn't support free expression because he focused more on the natural rights to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness. These natural rights existed prior to gov't therefore no government sponsored healthcare would have been supported by him. Mill (utilitarianism) - is what liberty or freedom there ought to be on the prior assumption that there will be no significant governmental limits on individual liberty in order to help individuals - highly objected censorship. Mill outlines the benefits of 'searching for and discovering the truth' as a way to further knowledge. He argued that even if an opinion is false, the truth can be better understood by refuting the error. Rawls - believes a liberal just society must honor a right to freedom of expression. Rawls healthcare - Though Rawls himself does not discuss health care, other writers have applied Rawls' theory to the provision of health care - For instance, Amartya Sen has argued that we should attend not only to the distribution of primary goods, but also how effectively people are able to use those goods to pursue their ends. In a related vein, Norman Daniels has wondered why healthcare shouldn't be treated as a primary good, and some of his subsequent