From: "Gayle Dean" Date: Fri Sep 24, 2004
Subject: Re: Are all rights human?
Bill wrote:
>As for normal human babies, they will eventually become rational, so
>there is a problem in denying them rights, because the question is:
>when precisely do they acquire them? When do they reach the age of
>reason? There is no "bright line" that is obvious for every child -
>no clear-cut standard - for discriminating the rational from the pre-
>rational in the developmental process.
The appeal to potential doesn't work either. The potential rationality argument has the same problem as the rationality argument, i.e., there are many humans who do not have the potential to develop rationality. But, there are bigger problems with it. Using Mark Rowlands example from "Animals Like Us", you have the potential to be the Prime Minister of Britain, but that does not mean that you have the rights or the entitlements of the Prime Minister. As best, you would only have the potential to have them. As the author points out, "a potential right is, for all intents and purposes, no right at all. Young children no more have additional rights because of their potential than you have additional rights because of your potential to be Prime Minister." [p. 48].
Gayle