Description
If we have anything like a global ethic, and not just one on paper but that is motivating people all over the world to take action to make things better, it is human rights. I have read much on this subject but nothing comes close to what Hans Joas has done in this brilliant new book. He somehow brings the reader into the intensely exciting history of where the idea of human rights came from, how many major issues it has taken on, and where it might go... This is a book for teachers and students, but really for everyone in the world who is trying to make it better. -- Robert N. Bellah, Professor of Sociology, Emeritus, Department of Sociology, UC Berkeley Eschewing ahistorical rational justifications of timeless universal values as well as debunking genealogical deconstructions of historical origins, Hans Joas offers an affirmative genealogy of human rights as a fruitful alternative. The book links brilliant theoretical argumentation with gripping phenomenological narrative as it illuminates modern processes of sacralization of the human person. This tour de force is obligatory reading for anybody interested in the birth, contingent history, and fragile fate of human rights in our global age. -- Jose Casanova, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, Georgetown University Hans Joas presents fresh insights for all those who are interested in the debate on the foundations of human rights and their universal character. Due to the innovative character of its approach and to the clarity of its argument, this book will become one of the most important publications on the genesis and validity of human rights. -- Wolfgang Huber, Chairman of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany from 2003-2009 and coauthor of Violence: The Unrelenting Assault on Human Dignity One of the world's most distinguished social philosophers takes on one of the most pressing issues of our times and offers an entirely original approach. No one interested in human rights can afford to ignore this book. -- Lynn Hunt, Eugen Weber Professor, UCLA
About the Author
Hans Joas is professor of sociology at the University of Chicago, where he also belongs to the Committee on Social Thought, and at the University of Freiburg, Germany, where he is a Permanent Fellow at the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies, School of History.
Reviews
The widely respected sociologist Hans Joas has made something of a detour in his personal intellectual history and moved into the terrain of human rights-one of the hot areas in the humanities and social sciences, yet one of the most difficult to enter. He has made an original contribution. . . . For rights specialists and historical theorists, Joas' book will be provocative. * European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology *
Joas's book is an erudite and provocative contribution to omipresent conversations about human rights, their history, and their justification. . . . The book will be of great consequence for religious studies scholars. * The Journal of Religion *
Book Information
ISBN 9781589019690
Author Hans Joas
Format Paperback
Page Count 224
Imprint Georgetown University Press
Publisher Georgetown University Press
Weight(grams) 295g