Teoria dos direitos humanos como solidariedade

Abstract

Let’s formulate some questions that are important for those who are engaged in making theory of human rights but which are rarely thematised: Why do legal theory? Why are scholars interested in elaborating a theory of human rights? A number of answers come to the tip of the tongue: in order justify and advance the cause of human rights; as a way of fulfilling political or ideological commitments; as a result of a commitment to justice or to the enforcement of rule of law; to learn about the phenomenon of the law; because it is part of the business of the academy; out of a professional duty and as a way of earning a living; due to the pleasure of fiddling with theories and abstract thinking. It can also be the consequence of the combination of some or all the above motives. Above all, let’s try a different track to answer these questions.