Oppression, Resistance, and Rights: Philosophical and Religious Perspectives

Our theme is concerned with the curious fact of religious and philosophical contributions to oppressive political regimes as well as to resistance of oppression and the recognition of rights.  A number of questions may be addressed in connection with this theme, such as:

• What constitutes an oppressive regime, as opposed to a regime which places reasonable restraints on human conduct for the sake of the common good?  
• Are human rights more basic than responsibilities?  
• Is there a defensible secular philosophical foundation for universal human rights? 
• Is belief in human rights ultimately grounded in a Western worldview with its emphasis on the individual? 
• Is belief in human rights grounded in a specific religious tradition, such as Christianity and/or Judaism?  
• What do Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism have to say about human rights? Is all religious doctrine a form of oppression?  
• Are there specific philosophical or religious views which tend to contribute to political oppression? 
• Does belief in human rights depend upon a specific metaphysical outlook or concept of the human person?  
• Are there natural rights, or are all rights entirely dependent upon and created by the political community?  
• Is there any way to distinguish between authentic human rights and specious claims to rights? 
• Should we expand our concept of rights beyond human rights and recognize the rights of other sentient beings, or of the earth itself?

Contact: Dr. David Klassen ([email protected])