The Origins of Human Rights : Ancient Indian and Greco-Roman Perspectives

"This book studies the history of intercultural human rights. It examines the foundational elements of human rights in the East and the West and provides a comparative analysis of the independent streams of thought originating from the two different geographic spaces. It traces the genesis of the idea of human rights back to ancient Indian and Greco-Roman texts, especially concepts such as the Rigvedic universal moral law, the Upanishadic narratives, the Romans' model of governance, the rule of law, and administration of justice. It also looks at Cicero's concept of rights and duties which focuses on quality of compassion and fair play, and Seneca's expositions on mercy, empathy, justice and checks on the arbitrary exercise of power. An important contribution, this book fills a significant gap in the study of human rights. It will be useful for students and researchers of political science, ancient history, religion and civilizations, philosophy, history, human rights, governance, law, sociology, and South Asian studies. The book also caters to general readers interested in the history of human rights"-- Provided by publisher Cover Half Title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Important dates Glossary Introduction Part I 1 Human rights and Vedic texts: some reflections 2 Human rights and the Rigvedic and post-Rigvedic texts 3 Human rights and the Dharmasutras 4 Human rights and the Dharmasastras 5 Status of women during the Rigvedic and post-Rigvedic phases 6 Status of slavery during the Rigvedic and post-Rigvedic phases Part II 7 Greek humanistic thought in historical perspective 8 Socrates and human rights 9 Plato’s ideas and writings and human rights 10 Aristotle’s works and humanism 11 Status of women and slavery in ancient Greece 12 Hellenistic philosophy Part III 13 Roman humanistic thought in historical perspective 14 Marcus Tullius Cicero’s philosophy and human rights 15 Lucius Annaeus Seneca’s philosophy and human rights 16 Status of women and slavery in ancient Rome 17 The Roman values Part IV 18 Summing up: ancient Indian and Greco-Roman thoughts and human rights in a comparative perspective Select bibliography Index