RIGHTS AS PRAXIS: SARTRE AND THE POLITICS OF HUMAN RIGHTS

The object of this thesis is to determine why the human rights discourse has failed to usher in an age where the rights of man are respected, and what might be changed in order to facilitate such an age. We move from a discussion of the classical and contemporary versions of the human rights discourse to a critical examination of it through the lens of Jean-Paul Sartre's later writings on ethics, politics, and sociality. Through this analysis, we find fault with the individualizing and isolating aspects of the human rights discourse, and conclude with a discussion of alternate social formations that would obviate the problems inherent in the liberal democratic rights framework.

Name thesis:degree_name

MA

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Theory and Criticism

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Samson, William

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Schaffer, Scott

• Jean-Paul Sartre
• human rights
• ethics
• political theory.

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/18503

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/18503