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RE: Rights- reciprocal or absolute?
I think the term non-aggression is misleading. Rather say do not initiate aggression.
I think the term non-aggression is misleading. Rather say do not initiate aggression.
The point I'm driving at is: why do you have a right to non-aggression? The reason I don't like using non-aggression, or not to have aggression initiated against you, is because it is derived from a more fundamental right. When examined, it provides the context for why that right is not, in fact, absolute, and with good reason.
you only have the rights you are conceived with.
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is one way of defining three of them.
if some deprives or you of that they are violating your rights.
If you retaliate to preserve your rights you have done no wrong.
Again, why do you have those rights? Put another way, where do those rights come from? They're all derived from a more fundamental right. I agree with you that you have those three rights, but those are simply the three basic forms of a more general right, one that underscores all of them. It's the same one that underscores the right to non-aggression, which is a generalized way of referring to those three specific rights.
why is irrelevant.
you have them at conception.
that is sufficient.
Why is never irrelevant, but you're missing my point. I'm not claiming you don't have them at conception. The point I'm making is that they are specific instances of a more general right: the right to not have your consent violated. This is crucial in understanding why rights are reciprocal vis-a-vis the person who's rights are violated.
ok...have it your way...
nice weather we're having?
Why shy away from the conversation? I'm presenting you with a solid argument in favor of both self-defense and fundamental rights which is completely unbeatable. Again, I agree with you about the fact every individual has rights and that those rights are conferred upon an individual from conception.
All rights derive from the consent principle. It underpins every other valid right. As such, violating it estops one from appealing to it when the victim defends him or herself. In this way, rights are reciprocal. They're not reciprocal in that violating them negates those rights for the victim. They're reciprocal in that violating them negates those rights for the violator. That's the nice part about negative rights: when someone violates them, that opens them up for the use of force in self-defense. This is only the case if they are reciprocal.