Mike Vickers' Blog

RSE – The Human Rights Idea in the Philosophy of the Scottish Enlightenment – 18 November 2019

Bertrand Ramcharan – One Time UN Commissioner for Human Rights – origin Ghana

A good active presentation – I wait to see the podcast

A few points in the meantime:

1. Human Rights – as for the whole of humanity
2. It’s Universality remains a worry
3. Need for Responsibility and Voice of Conscience
4. Long time in coming to fruition – Aesop’s fables
5. Common Sense – not quoted but Thomas Reid
6. Is a Western Idea? – No
7. All nations bought in and confirmed recently (Date to be found)
8. But have they touched the peoples of the world?
9. Main problem will be AI – China and US
10. The South China Seas are now in the Front Line
11. Active problems: terrorism, rights of sovernty, Job Losses, Retraining people
12. More generally the need to maintain / implement The Rule of Law
13. Scottish Enlightenment as source of Human Rights
    1. Gershom Carmichael wrote it all including protection of Environment; against slavery, rights applicable to all humanity
    2. And BTW there was Hume with his Treatise of Human Reason
    3. Brody has reviewed it all
14. US Constitution made use of the Ideas of the Scottish Enlightenment – but Thomas Paine helped
15. Human Rights and The Future – very open – Impact of technology – ‘communications’