Reflexions at the Margin of “Human Rights from a Philosophical Point of View” by Jeanne Hersch

The aim of this article is to reflect upon Jeanne Hersch’s essay, Les droits de l’homme d’un point de vue philosophique (1990). This short essay constitutes a fundamental reference point on the nature and value of the concept of human rights. The starting point concerns an apparent consensus on the idea of “human rights”: formally everybody agrees on the existence of human rights and on the necessity of respecting them. Nevertheless, once the concept is further developed, doubts and inconsistencies arise. A possible explanation of this phenomenon is that the idea of human rights per se is universal, because it brings all human beings together; on the other hand, human beings live their lives within a particular context and this often changes the meaning and content given to human rights. What is shared by all people everywhere is the need to affirm one’s freedom, notwithstanding differences of meaning or content. An explanation of this principle may be found in the new idea of the categorization of rights proposed by Jeanne Hersch: these rights have been acknowledged and proclaimed in diverse historical moments, but the real difference among them is the needs they must satisfy. The purpose of the present article is to attempt to combine Hersch’s reflections with the contemporary idea of constitutional fundamental rights and, in particular, with the significance of the right to life and the right to health.