thomas hobbes first described the idea of natural rights.
thomas hobbes first described the idea of natural rights.
who first described the idea of natural rights?
thomas hobbes
the concept of natural law is related to the concept of natural rights. natural law first appeared in ancient greek philosophy, and was referred to by roman philosopher cicero. it was subsequently alluded to in the bible, and then developed in the middle ages by catholic philosophers such as albert the great and his pupil thomas aquinas. during the age of enlightenment, the concept of natural laws was used to challenge the divine right of kings, and became an alternative justification for the establishment of a social contract, positive law, and government – and thus legal rights – in the form of classical republicanism. conversely, the concept of natural rights is used by others to challenge the legitimacy of all such establishments.
natural and legal rights
17th century natural law philosophers in britain and america, such as thomas hobbes, jean-jacques rousseau and john locke, developed the theory of natural rights in reference to ancient philosophers such as aristotle and the christian theologist aquinas. like the ancient philosophers, 17th century natural law philosophers defended slavery and an inferior status of women in law. relying on ancient greek philosophers, natural law philosophers argued that natural rights were not derived from god, but were "universal, self-evident, and intuitive", a law that could be found in nature. they believed that natural rights were self-evident to "civilised man" who lives "in the highest form of society". natural rights derived from human nature, a concept first established by the ancient greek philosopher zeno of citium in "concerning human nature". zenon argued that each rational and civilized male greek citizen had a "divine spark" or "soul" within him that existed independent of the body. zeno founded the stoic philosophy and the idea of a human nature was adopted by other greek philosophers, and later natural law philosophers and western humanists. aristotle developed the widely adopted idea of rationality, arguing that man was a "rational animal" and as such a natural power of reason. concepts of human nature in ancient greece depended on gender, ethnic, and other qualifications and 17th century natural law philosophers came to regard women along with children, slaves and non-whites, as neither "rational" nor "civilised". natural law philosophers claimed the inferior status of women was "common sense" and a matter of "nature". they believed that women could not be treated as equal due to their "inner nature". the views of 17th century natural law philosophers were opposed in the 18th and 19th century by evangelical natural theology philosophers such as william wilberforce and charles spurgeon, who argued for the abolition of slavery and advocated for women to have rights equal to that of men. modern natural law theorists, and advocates of natural rights, claim that all people have a human nature, regardless of gender, ethnicity or other qualifications, therefore all people have natural rights.
women's rights