What are Human Rights? Six Historical Controversies

Ishay Reading Response Paper
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Ishay Reading Response Paper
The controversy I found most surprising is the one on the Origins of Human Rights. There are several reasons why I found the controversy to be surprising. First, I have always thought that the debate concerning human rights must have started in Western societies. There is so much documented history about the origin of human rights in America and other Western nations. The detailed history may give one the impression that the debate concerning human rights originated in the West. However, the reading by Ishay shows that there are many other cultures where human rights have been a matter of concern since historical times. Through a meticulous investigation of facts, the author shows that the thinking about human rights was present in ancient China, India, and Africa.
To illustrate the presence of human rights through processes in other cultures, Ishay makes reference to some ancient philosophers. A perfect example of this regard is Mencius, who was a Chinese philosopher. According to Ishay (2004), this philosopher argued that “all men are born with a heart of compassion.” This quote shows the reasoning that may have been prevalent in ancient Chinese. Saying that all men are born with a heart of compassion and that the ancient Chinese society expected every person to act with compassion. Consequently, any act that does not conform to compassion is undesirable. This thought process shows the ancient Chinese culture promoted the rights of every human being to be treated well (fairly) and potentially equally.
The other example that illustrates that the origin of human rights may have had roots in cultures other than the Western one is the quote by Indian philosopher Manu. According to Ishay (2004), this philosopher asserts that “all men are born equal.” This assertion closely reflects the modern notion of human rights. Equality is one of the issues of great interest and debate in contemporary society. The fact that an ancient Indian philosopher had argued that all men are born equal shows that the ancient Indian society believed in the concept of equality between men and women.
The examples provided by Ishay greatly surprised me. Even in my wildest thinking, I could not have thought that human rights origins ar...