Abstract

How can one explain the extent to which our societies value human rights, that is, that they hold an actual authority over us? This precise question about the authority of rules is neglected by theories that, like Searle’s intentionalism or Rorty’s pragmatism, highlight, each one in its own way, the fundamental contingency of human rights. The answer to this question is presented in two steps. On the one hand, it is shown how human rights are embedded in what I shall call our Objective Moral Context. On the other hand, it is shown how this Objective Moral Context is intrinsically bound to the understanding we have of ourselves, to our identity. One might say that human rights have authority over us because they define who we are