Rights (Was: Dyson (Was: Paths to Uploading))

den Otter (neosapient@geocities.com)
Tue, 12 Jan 1999 15:43:42 +0100



> From: HP Authorized Customer <frjones@swbell.net>
> > From: Terry Donaghe <tdonaghe@yahoo.com>
> > ---Samael <Samael@dial.pipex.com> wrote:

> > > Especially when nobody has yet even managed to come up with a logical
> > > objection to rape (which pretty much everyone on the planet admits
> > is an
> > > abbhorence (sic)).

> > Ummmm... We each have a right to our own bodies and I believe that
> > rape is a violation of that right.

> I'm new here so please don't screw me over on this.
> Who said we each have a right to our own bodies?

That kind of "rights" are just some people's subjective opinion. The only "absolute" or objective right is that of superior force. So for example "human rights" are only meaningful when those that champion them have the power to enforce their will. To paraphrase: "(human) rights come from the barrel of a gun". Note: of course others don't always have to be threatened to accept your world view; they can also be bribed. However, (as long as there's a significant diversity of opinion) it still comes down to power, be it financial or military, in the end.