Blog Response 2

Philosophers have often wondered: do morals exist outside of power? More specifically, do we have rights in a state of nature, or do those with authority give us those “rights”? I personally believe that, contrary to what we might hope, rights do not exist. The most fundamental right that most people would claim mankind has been given, is life. As John Locke would argue, in a state of nature we are given the right to live. But who gave us this right? Just because we are born, does not mean we have some “right to life” that no one can take away. If a person comes up to you with a big stick, they can kill you. They can take away your life, simply by having a superior weapon. By having power.

However, if that person with the big stick decides that you deserve to live, suddenly you have been given the “right” to your life, because if anyone else tries to kill you, the person with the big stick will stop them (or at least punish them afterwards). But that right to life did not exist independently of the person with the big stick; it was given to you by an entity of power.

But whether or not we should exercise restraint on our conduct is a different question all together. I do believe that ethics exist, even if rights don’t.

Just because you have power does not mean that you should inflict harm upon others. This other person may not have the right to his life, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t feel some sort of ethical obligation to let him live. He is a living, breathing, conscious being; if you have any natural moral principles you will recognize that the pain and suffering you cause him and his family by killing him is bad.

I do not believe the Melians had the right to rule their own island, because rights don’t exist. Athens was more powerful, therefore Melos would only have the “right” to rule themselves if Athens granted it to them. Athens did not, so Melos had no right to self-government. However, I think the Athenians should have placed restraint on their conduct. Maybe it is a quixotic outlook, but I do believe there are some things we ought to do -- not harming others unnecessarily is one of them.

In the end, there’s no real way to stop a person in power from doing as they please, but most of the time those in power are kept in check, as they should be, by their ethical consciences. Ultimately, whether or not they actually will restrain themselves, I believe those in power should restrain themselves from doing things that harm others, because pain and suffering is bad.