 | To Publius:
Thanks - again - for your very patient and very clear exposition. I
think I know exactly what you are saying and I can't disagree with it.
And yet, I am uneasy. I acknowledge the importance of rights and the
desirability of their becoming global properties. My difficulty lies
in the "shut-off" mentality the possession of rights often engenders.
Rights, once achieved, seem to stifle debate about the nature of
existence. All energy goes into the mere exercise of the right gained
- an exercise not to be scoffed at, to be sure, but limiting no less.
I would prefer we focused on human capability. Central to my
Humanisation theory is the notion that we possess a range of abilities
which, once recognised and exercised, will enable us to create the
knowing, rational society I describe in my book. This proposed society
draws its strength from many sources - from the resolution of most of
the major disputes that have blighted our history, from an increase in
knowledge and scientific and technological capacity and so on - but
crucial to it is a vibrant sense of human potential and a general
insistence on offering each and every individual the opportunity of
exercising their own potential. This, I feel, is a more dynamic and a
more enriching measure of human achievement than the acquisition of
rights, important and all as they are.
Thanks for your postings to date.
Best wishes
Joseph H
http://www.humanisation.org
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