The right way and the wrong way to think about rights. Important material for libertarians, and indeed for everyone. Scroll down for the show notes and mp3!

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How can we know for sure what rights people have? Do rights exist at all? If so, how do we demonstrate that? Do we even need the idea of rights in order to defend libertarianism? Libertarian theorist Frank van Dun joins us to sort this all out!

Topics Discussed

What rights do individuals have?

How do we know they have these rights and no others?

Do animals have rights?

What’s wrong with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

Why isn’t there a “right to a pension” or a “right to a paid vacation”?

Is there such a thing as natural law?

If so, what can it teach us?

Isn’t utilitarianism just as good a grounding for libertarianism?

About the Guest

Frank van Dun is a Belgian law philosopher and natural law theorist. He is a senior lecturer in the philosophy of law at the University of Ghent.

Guest’s Website

Frank van Dun

Articles Discussed

“Human Dignity: Reason or Desire: Natural Rights versus Human Rights”

“Natural Law: A Logical Analysis”

“Argumentation Ethics and the Philosophy of Freedom”

Episode Mentioned (after the interview)

Ep. 202: Ralph Nader on Left and Right

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