I think Glen was just working up a Presidents Day troll. The day we celebrate the births of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln is the perfect day to appear to deny that "rights" exist.
But I think he really means that their existence is problematic, and if you scan the Wikipedia article on rights you'll see how one might come to that conclusion. -- rec -- On Mon, Feb 15, 2010 at 9:32 AM, Robert J. Cordingley <rob...@cirrillian.com > wrote: > Glen > See http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/ and don't skip the bit that says > "disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts > which have outraged the conscience of mankind". A right isn't a natural > consequence... but then I think you jest. > Thanks > Robert > > > On 2/15/10 8:32 AM, glen e. p. ropella wrote: > >> Thus spake Nicholas Thompson circa 02/14/2010 10:49 AM: >> >> >>> Rights talk is madness. >>> >>> >> That's the most true sentence I've seen on this mailing list. [grin] >> Nobody has a right to anything. Some of us are lucky enough to be in >> the right social classes to take advantage of particular legal systems; >> but that's the whole extent of it. If there are any rights at all, they >> are those provided by our biology. >> >> E.g. I have the right to be hungry when I don't eat. I have the right >> to be euphoric when I hunt. I have the right to pain and death in the >> freezing dawn in my cardboard shanty under the bridge. >> >> Everything else is ideology and illusion. Luckily, there are those of >> us who are crafty enough to exploit the gullibility of those around us >> so that our rights seem more real than theirs. >> >> >> > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org >
============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
