Rethinking Rights and Responsibilities: The Moral Bonds of Community

ISBN 10: 0829810021 ISBN 13: 9780829810028

Synopsis

As members of various and often conflicting communities, how do we reconcile what we have come to understand as our human rights with our responsibilities toward one another? With the bright thread of individualism woven through the American psyche, where can our sense of duty toward others be found? What has happened to our love - even our concern - for our neighbor? In this revised edition of his magisterial exploration of these critical questions, renowned ethicist Arthur Dyck revisits and profoundly hones his call for the moral bonds of community. In all areas of contemporary life, be it in business, politics, health care, religion - and even in family relationships - the "right" of individuals to consider themselves first has taken precedence over our responsibilities toward others. Dyck contends that we must recast the language of rights to take into account our once natural obligations to all the communities of which we are a part. Rethinking Rights and Responsibilities, at the nexus of ethics, political theory, public policy, and law, traces how the peculiarly American formulations of the rights of the individual have assaulted our connections with, and responsibilities for, those around us. Dyck critically examines contemporary society and the relationship between responsibilities and rights, particularly as they are expressed in medicine and health care, to maintain that while indeed rights and responsibilities form the moral bonds of community, we must begin with the rudimentary task of taking better care of one another.

About this title

Review

"Dyck documents his concern that 'human rights are being seriously violated not only in practice, but in theory.' He shows that theories of rights have undermined human communities by emphasizing separation and that theories currently gaining prominence sacrifice individuals for the alleged benefit of larger numbers or of governments in power. In light of these alarming findings, Dyck formulates a theory of justice that relates rights to responsibilities. A challenging book for academic, seminary, and large public libraries." -- "Library Journal," reviewing a previous edition or volume

About the Author

Arthur J. Dyck is Mary B. Saltonstall Professor of Population Ethics in the School of Public Health, and a member of the Faculty of Divinity at Harvard University.

Edition details

• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0829810021
• ISBN 13: 9780829810028
• Binding: Library Binding