Fundamental Human Rights

Do fundamental human rights exist?

Option 1: Life doesn’t matter at all (nihilism)

Basic beliefs:

• No objective meaning

• No intrinsic value to life

• No reason to prefer mercy over murder

This is internally consistent, but nobody lives consistently within this framework. The moment you recoil from a child being abused, or mourn someone’s death, or rage at injustice, you’ve betrayed the system.

You’re acting like life does matter.

Option 2: Life matters because we say it does (subjective)

This is the predominant view in modern Western culture.

• Meaning is personal.

• Value is constructed.

• Human rights are agreements, not absolutes.

Option 3: Life matters because a higher authority says it does

This stance believes that the exist of human rights is woven into the fabric of reality. We don't construct or create human rights. Instead, we uncover them. They exist even if someone, or whole societies, disagree.

Logically, this position believes that if we are the ones who give life meaning and value, then we can just as easily take away that value too. From this perspective, life inherently matters.