An Introduction to Rights

by William A. Edmundson

Book Overview

An Introduction to Rights is a readable and accessible introduction to the history, logic, moral implications and political tendencies of the idea of rights. It is organized chronologically and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521008700
• ISBN13: 9780521008709
• Release Date: March 2004
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Reasoning to the end of the road

The book's strength lies in its intellectual rigor. William Edmundson starts at some specific notion of rights and follows its reasoning to the end: either the reader sees the final consequences or Edmundson sees the arrival of a new question. Or he begins with the contrast between two apparently similar ideas, and then follows this contrast as far as it will go. The result is a fertile field for classroom discussions. Edmundson frequently offers an abstract line of reasoning without supporting examples. In places almost every sentence could open a lengthy exchange. The result is a book where ideas travel fast and the reading is often dense. One hopes that the professors dish out the parts of the book in bite-size pieces.