Human rights as social construction /

Gregg (Univ. of Texas, Austin) argues closely for a conception of human rights as a "natural morality" that draws on cultural resources and acknowledges developments in evolutionary neurobiology. His goal is to facilitate the spread of these conceptions, stressing solidarity and avoiding human rights imperialism. The first two chapters argue against "theological" and "metaphysical" accounts of human rights to show that these are in fact social constructions, universal to those who hold them, particular with respect to other cultures and traditions. The book is at its most successful when it elaborates on discursive strategies aimed at framing and promoting human rights dialogue among cultures, especially the West and Islam. However, this book has two weaknesses. The first is its tendency to conflate the validity of the normative content of human rights claims with their plausibility in different contexts. The second is that the claim for the social construction of rights norms remains purely discursive. It emphasizes the philosophical elaboration of norms, but it elides the very real struggles of modernity to which human rights discourses represent one solution. Despite these weaknesses, this book is well worth the effort. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. M. Forman University of Washington