“We hold this truth to be self-evident that all men were created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness….”The intellectual movement of the philosophy of liberalism in the 17th and 18th centuries provided a profound influence for this statement. The statement forms the first few lines of the United States Declaration of Independence made on the 4thof July 1776. Worthy of note in this famous declaration is the idea of natural rights encapsulated in it. It is the idea that all men naturally as human beings are equally entitled to certain unalienable rights. Natural right is the philosophy that certain rights or values are inherent by virtue of human nature and universally cognizable through human reason.
This idea of natural right is rooted in ancient philosophical works founded on and connected to the idea of natural law. It received its most significant contribution during the enlightenment period in the works of various enlightenment philosophers who presented various theories on the concept and idea of natural rights, but the fundamental creed stressed by all is that, all human beings by reason of their humanity deserve decent life, liberty and the attainment of happiness. These fundamental truths are the central elements that guides and shapes the whole theories and conceptions of rights, seeing that the cradle of the idea of rights is the improvement of human lives. The foremost enlightenment philosopher John Locke, with his theory of natural right is credited with giving a strong intellectual backing to the idea of natural rights which greatly influenced the U.S declaration of independence, in other words this declaration echoed Locke’s philosophical ideas of natural rights.
The natural right theory paved the pathway for the modern day conception of human rights thereby, establishing the philosophical foundations and origins of human rights. The evolution of the ideas of natural rights and natural law in western ethical traditions are antecedents of the modern idea of human rights. The current notion of human right is a product of successive philosophies building on the idea of natural law. The birth of the idea of natural right marked a milestone in mankind’s intellectual and ideological development. This is evidenced in the various declarations, revolutions, institutions and systems it produced that have contributed immensely to the historic development and transformation of the human condition. In the enlightenment period, this philosophy kick-started what would be a global movement for the emancipation of mankind from oppressive political systems and dictates.
Natural rights philosophy has witnessed series of evolution from its original Greek beginnings in natural law, to the present day conception of human rights. This evolution can be seen in the various theories and conventions on rights. A significant example of this evolution is the idea of property rights postulated by Locke, which metamorphosed into the contemporary social and economic rights found in the second arm of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR). This continued progression, evolution and development of the theory of natural rights, has facilitated the contemporary integration of human rights into development. However, the development agenda itself carries a significant and fundamental goal of the whole theory of rights which is the improvement of human lives.
The enlightenment period constitute a fundamental trigger of the development and evolvement of natural law and natural right theories. The enlightenment period witnessed a change in the perspective or worldview of rights. The view of rights as exclusive or limited privileges that rulers grant or bestow to individuals and groups was fundamentally challenged. In opposition to this view, enlightenment thinkers elaborated theories that characterized rights in universal terms as the birth right of all people in virtue of their natural capacity as human beings.
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