Cultural pluralism and universality of rights

Abstract

The strong pluralism of “western” culture, and the existence of other, altogether diverse cultures, raises today with particular radicality the question of the foundation of natural right and of moral laws common to all men and all peoples. The distinction between expressive thought (flowing from culture) and revelatory thought (concerning the structural being of man) makes possible a gnoseological foundation for the problem. In turn, the consideration of culture as the medium in which man freely and contingently expresses his surplus of being vis-à-vis his nature provides the basis for an anthropological foundation. However, in both cases, the foundational level is always expressed by way of a particular cultural determination, and hence there never exists a formulation of natural right or of moral laws which can be considered completely definitive.