How does the UDHR reflect Enlightenment values?
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights reflects enlightenment values through the ideologies behind its clauses. We can see that the ideas behind each clauses originate from Enlightenment thinkers and documents. In fact, many clauses in the UDHR are direct copies from the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. First, Article 1, which states the rights of all human beings, are influenced by the French Declaration of the Rights of Men, which stated “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights.” Second, Article 3 of the UDHR is nearly identical has the Declaration of the Rights of Men, stating all men to possess the rights of “Life, Liberty, and Security.” Article 7, stating all to be “equal before the law,” is directly from the DRM article 6, which also states “all citizens, being equal before it[the law].” In Article 19 of the UDHR, it reserves people “the right to freedom of opinion and expression,” an idea which originated in a French philosophes, Voltaire, who once said “My trade is to say what I think.” The UDHR also supports free, fundamental education for all in Article 26, which originated in the women philosophes who believed that education would promote social equality. In Article 21 section 3, it states “The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government,” an idea Rousseau introduced. Through the multiple examples provided, it can be said that the UDHR is made up with many clauses that contains enlightenment ideals, while some new clauses have been introduced for a modern context.
How has the notion of “rights” evolved since the Age of Enlightenment? (use evidence from the UDHR to respond)
Many significant event, both benign and malign, have passed since the French Revolution. During the French Revolution, many ideals were shaped by the inequality between the three estates, which explained for the declaration of the rights of men and the abolishment of nobility and monarchy. But many new, inhuman events came and go after the French Revolution. The UDHR, signed three years after the World War II, have not just included clauses based on the enlightenment ideal, but also new clauses for modern context to prevent events such as the Holocaust, eradicate child marriage and child labour (which originated in the Industrial Revolution). For example, Article 5 prohibits torture or inhumane treatment of man, while Article 6 made everyone recognized before the law. Furthermore, Article 13 allowed everyone the freedom of movement and residence in a state, while Article 14 and 15 reserved everyone the right to seek asylum and be granted a nationality. The clause stated clearly targets against the Holocaust during WWII, where the disabled and Jews were tortured and killed, unrecognized before the law, forced to live in Jewish neighborhoods, persecuted, and lost their German nationality. Article 16 targets child marriage, where children were forced to marry each other so parents could earn dowry, by specifically stating that “marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.” Article 13 targets child labour and exploitation of workers, which was a phenomenon that begun in the Industrial Revolution, where children were forced to work in factories with low pay, while normal, adult workers worked long hours with low pay and little rest. As shown above, many new clauses were made apart from the enlightenment ideals as an attempt to prevent modern human rights crisis.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights reflects enlightenment values through the ideologies behind its clauses. We can see that the ideas behind each clauses originate from Enlightenment thinkers and documents. In fact, many clauses in the UDHR are direct copies from the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. First, Article 1, which states the rights of all human beings, are influenced by the French Declaration of the Rights of Men, which stated “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights.” Second, Article 3 of the UDHR is nearly identical has the Declaration of the Rights of Men, stating all men to possess the rights of “Life, Liberty, and Security.” Article 7, stating all to be “equal before the law,” is directly from the DRM article 6, which also states “all citizens, being equal before it[the law].” In Article 19 of the UDHR, it reserves people “the right to freedom of opinion and expression,” an idea which originated in a French philosophes, Voltaire, who once said “My trade is to say what I think.” The UDHR also supports free, fundamental education for all in Article 26, which originated in the women philosophes who believed that education would promote social equality. In Article 21 section 3, it states “The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government,” an idea Rousseau introduced. Through the multiple examples provided, it can be said that the UDHR is made up with many clauses that contains enlightenment ideals, while some new clauses have been introduced for a modern context.
How has the notion of “rights” evolved since the Age of Enlightenment? (use evidence from the UDHR to respond)
Many significant event, both benign and malign, have passed since the French Revolution. During the French Revolution, many ideals were shaped by the inequality between the three estates, which explained for the declaration of the rights of men and the abolishment of nobility and monarchy. But many new, inhuman events came and go after the French Revolution. The UDHR, signed three years after the World War II, have not just included clauses based on the enlightenment ideal, but also new clauses for modern context to prevent events such as the Holocaust, eradicate child marriage and child labour (which originated in the Industrial Revolution). For example, Article 5 prohibits torture or inhumane treatment of man, while Article 6 made everyone recognized before the law. Furthermore, Article 13 allowed everyone the freedom of movement and residence in a state, while Article 14 and 15 reserved everyone the right to seek asylum and be granted a nationality. The clause stated clearly targets against the Holocaust during WWII, where the disabled and Jews were tortured and killed, unrecognized before the law, forced to live in Jewish neighborhoods, persecuted, and lost their German nationality. Article 16 targets child marriage, where children were forced to marry each other so parents could earn dowry, by specifically stating that “marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.” Article 13 targets child labour and exploitation of workers, which was a phenomenon that begun in the Industrial Revolution, where children were forced to work in factories with low pay, while normal, adult workers worked long hours with low pay and little rest. As shown above, many new clauses were made apart from the enlightenment ideals as an attempt to prevent modern human rights crisis.