“You believe, then, that the fundamentals of justice should be deduced not from a praetor’s proclamation,
as many now assert, nor from the Twelve Tables of the Law, as our forefathers maintained, but from the
innermost depths of philosophy?” (Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods)
Although discussions about international issues often make reference to the notion of Human Rights – the
war in Syria and the ensuing migration of refugees, the killing of demonstrators in Myanmar, the shortage
of anti-covid vaccines for poor countries are obvious examples – the philosophical foundations of these
rights, their claim to cross-cultural universality, their ability to be a sort of secularized religion of mankind
are controversial. This class aims to introduce students to the philosophical debate on the foundational
issue and to stimulate independent yet informed thinking.
as many now assert, nor from the Twelve Tables of the Law, as our forefathers maintained, but from the
innermost depths of philosophy?” (Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods)
Although discussions about international issues often make reference to the notion of Human Rights – the
war in Syria and the ensuing migration of refugees, the killing of demonstrators in Myanmar, the shortage
of anti-covid vaccines for poor countries are obvious examples – the philosophical foundations of these
rights, their claim to cross-cultural universality, their ability to be a sort of secularized religion of mankind
are controversial. This class aims to introduce students to the philosophical debate on the foundational
issue and to stimulate independent yet informed thinking.
- Kursleiter/in: Dimitrios Georgios Oikonomou
- Kursleiter/in: Martina Tomczak
Semester: WT 2024/25