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James Wellstead | Universal Human Rights
transcendentally grounded universal morals 24 not equated with concrete ways
of life. 25
While communitarians criticize universally grounded morality as
operating on the false assumption that a ‘thinly’ rationally-derived right could
effectively return into the ‘thick’ culturally specific ethical system, Apel sees
the cosmopolitan approach as obviating this criticism. Instead, inter-cultural
dialogues are able to elucidate universal moral rights from these ‘maximal’ or
‘thick’ systems first and then apply them into ‘minimalist’ universal
conceptions of rights that have relevance to all cultures from which they are
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derived. In other words, the cosmopolitan rights are universally valid
because they are collectively identified by all cultures, rather than being decontextualized
and then imposed on all cultures, as suggested by
communitarians.
It is from these transcendentally, inter-culturally derived morals that
we can transfer into cosmopolitan legal systems of universal human rights.
Cosmopolitans, like David Held and Richard Falk, see the well-being of
humanity requiring law to be operative on a regional or global scale that
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corresponds to the scope of operations. Thus, as we can draw upon specific
moral foundations derived irrespective of cultural and historical
24 This is achieved via the adherence to the principles of discourse ethics and aided by the
‘hermeneutic circle’, which allows diverse participants to create a globally coherent
understanding (Apel 2000).
25 Ibid. 149.
26 Ibid. 149.
27 Falk, Richard.“The World Order Between Inter-state Law and the Law of Humanity: The
role of Civil Society Institutions.” Cosmopolitan Democracy: An Agenda for a New World Order.
Ed. Daniele Archibugi and David Held. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 1995. p.167.
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