Human rights : concept and context /

This first-rate volume, by a philosophy professor from the University of Waterloo, has few rivals. Divided between concept (the longer and more philosophical section) and historical context, Human Rights provides a succinct yet challenging, nuanced analysis in part 1; this section includes basic vocabulary, holders of human rights, their justifications and objects, their duties, and criticisms of human rights. "Ultimate principles" justify human rights, at first- and second-level specifications of objects and of correlative duties. Cross-cultural consensus exists, Orend continues, "since the human rights idea is so thin and minimal, so elemental and fundamental to people's understanding of how a person ought minimally to be treated ... [however] there is much room above this minimal threshold for cultural differences, ethical pluralism and unique customs and traditions" (author's italics). Part 2 (roughly one-third the length of part 1) will be more familiar to those teaching the historical, legal, and political contexts within which human rights have been respected or violated; its brevity may disappoint some. Orend rounds out his book with key human rights documents from the US, France, the UN, and Canada as well as a useful research guide to other documents and research sites. Recommended for lower- and upper-division undergraduate students and graduates. C. E. Welch SUNY at Buffalo