From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Tue May 07 2002 - 03:59:58 MDT
Samantha writes
> Lee Corbin wrote:
> > Let me speak operationally. If you ask me about whether some
> > legal right exists, then I know perfectly well how to determine
> > that. I can examine the law books and the enacted statutes. I
> > can also consult the district attorney's office, the police,
> > or experienced judges and lawyers. Crucially, there is a fact
> > of the matter.
>
> Do you think the origin or validation of rights is simply what
> is written down? In who's book?
Um, my point was that I don't believe in "rights" in the abstract.
I know what *legal rights* are, but that's it. You seem to have
missed my point that one can determine what *legal rights* are,
but how in the world is one to determine what "rights" in the
abstract are? Yet you speak as if people somehow know.
> What was written down before the American revolution denied
> us most of the rights the revolution was fought for.
> Are rights then a matter of the winning party?
Oh, oh. This is getting very frustrating ;-) It's not *me*
who believes in the rights that you keep refering to!
Now in the American Revolution, there was a lot of talk about
"the rights of Englishmen". This made perfect sense, since
over hundreds of years such had gradually evolved. What was
spoken of was, of course, legal rights.
But yes, also around the time of the American Revolution,
people (I think!) began to speak of "Natural Rights". I
once attempted to get a thread going on this list about
"natural rights", but failed. I'm not sure, but I think
that those things are something that some conservatives
strongly believe in.
> > Likewise, I can determine operationally if X approves of
> > proposition P. The most obvious recourse is to ask X if
> > he or she approves of P. Over time, especially if I'm
> > being thorough, I can converge to an answer of whether
> > X approves of P. Also, I can observe X carefully and
> > maybe find out if there's a difference between X's verbal
> > support of P and X's actions.
>
> Way too much in your head and not straight shooting.
Sorry, to get too academic on you. I digressed to make it
abundantly clear that I also know what it means for someone
to approve of something. So, again, these are the only two
things I understand:
(a) legal rights
(b) what someone approves of, or believes to be good
for society
Lee
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