Utilitarizmo įtaka žmogaus teisių sistemai

Abstract

The impact of the utilitarianism philosophical school on the system of human rights is being researched in the article. The article is composed of an introduction, four parts and conclusions. In the first part the conception of utilitarianism and its development are analyzed. Utilitarianism (Lat. utiliias utility) is a philosophical theory of ethics, which formulated moral behaviour criteria, according to which an act (action) is considered good if the largest possible number of people receives benefit. The originators and ideologists of the utilitarianism are J. Bentham and J.S. Mill. The dynamic nature of the system of human rights is revealed in the second part. Human rights of the first, second and third generation, reflecting the historical development of human rights, are indicated. The relation between human rights and human nature are analyzed. It is noticed that during later ages the legalization of natural rights in main sources of positive law, constitutions and international agreements, dominates. In the third part the issue of the universality of human rights is discussed. Different opinions, both justifying the idea of human rights universality and negating the possibility ofhuman rights universality are represented. The representatives of cultural relativism allege that the conception ofhuman rights might not be the same for all states and societies due to their different level of development and particularity, and the culture of specific society. It is proposed in the article to consider human rights as universal ones, acknowledging certain peculiarities and distinctions, which are determined by historical times, dominating in the state moral provisions and the legal consciousness. [...]