Penn & Malik the Protection and Development of the Human Spirit

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The Protection and Development of the Human Spirit: An ExpandedFocus for Human Rights Discourse

Michael L. PennAditi Malik

Human Rights Quarterly, Volume 32, Number 3, August 2010,pp. 665-688 (Article)

Published by The Johns Hopkins University Press

For additional information about this article

Access Provided by Franklin & Marshall College at 08/11/10 4:18PM GMT

http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/hrq/summary/v032/32.3.penn.html
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HUMAN RIGHTS QUARTERLY

Human Rights Quarterly 32 (2010) 665688 2010 by The Johns Hopkins University Press

The Pr te ti n and Devel pment theHuman Spirit:An E panded F us r Human RightsDis urse

Michael L. Penn* & Aditi Malik**

AbSTRAcT

Human rights discourse would be enriched by a greater ocus on the con-ditions that are necessary or the protection, development, and re nemento the human spirit. This essay outlines a rational account o the notiono the human spirit and endeavors to show that the human spirit providesan appropriate ocus or human rights concerns because it embodies theintrinsic value o the human person, provides an ontological basis or theoneness and interdependence o humankind, and de nes those capacitieso consciousness upon which the uture o civilization depends.

* Michael L. Penn is a Pro essor o Psychology at Franklin & Marshall College. His researchinterests and publications include works in the pathogenesis o hope and hopelessness, ado-lescent psychopathology, the relationship between culture and psychopathology, human rightsand the epidemiology o gender-based violence. Pro essor Penn is the author o Overcoming Violence against Women and Girls: The International Campaign to Eradicate a Worldwide Problem published by Rowman & Little eld in 2003 and serves on the Permanent Board o the Tahirih Justice Center in Washington, D.C. The authors owe a special debt o gratitude tothe late Mathematician and Philosopher, Pro essor William S. Hatcher. This project receivedits unding rom the Hackman Scholars Program at Franklin & Marshall College.

**Aditi Malik is a doctoral student in Political Science at Northwestern University and a gradu-ate o Franklin & Marshall College. Her primary areas o ocus are Comparative Politics andInternational Relations, with a special emphasis on the study o human rights, genocide, andpost-genocide state-building. She conducted eld research in Cambodia during the summer o 2007, and is particularly interested in applying qualitative and interpretive research methodsto the study o state-building in post-genocide Rwanda, East Timor, and Cambodia.


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V l. 32666 HUMAN RIGHTS QUARTERLY

I. INTRoDUcTIoN

A signi cant discovery o the twentieth century is that our actions are gov-

erned, not by reality, but by our inner model o reality. These inner modelshave been variously labeled, theories o reality, structures o meaning,or worldviews. 1 A worldview provides the lens through which we per-ceive and understand the human experience. It determines, to a signi cantdegree, what we hope or, how we spend our time, and how we relate tothe natural and social environment. Worldview provides the overarchingconceptual matrix within which we come o age. It determines, to no smalldegree, the trajectory o our individual and collective development, andprovides the visionary material out o which is ormed the kind o human

beings we aspire to become. In his seminal paper on the theme, Mark E.Koltko-Rivera notes:

A worldview is a way o describing the universe and li e within it, both in termso what is and what ought to be. A given worldview is a set o belie s that in-cludes limiting statements and assumptions regarding what exists and what doesnot [exist]. . . A worldview de nes what can be known or done in the world,and how it can be known and done. In addition to de ning what goals can besought in li e, a worldview de nes what goals should be pursued. 2

Worldviews are not created anew with each individual, but are transmittedrom one generation to another via the instrumentality o culture. 3A worldview is designed to provide answers to some o the most un-

damental problems or questions o li e. But reality will not tolerate anyconception o it. Some inner models o reality will prove more use ul, morein harmony with well-established truths about the world. Some will acilitatethe achievement o human prosperity and development. Others will providemoral justi cation or violence and destruction.

An ideology is the most destructive expression o a worldview. When

social, political, or religious systems unction as ideologies they conceiveo morality as the belie in and de ense o particular doctrines. These doc-trines are viewed as the supreme value and morality is conceived as theirpropagation and dissemination by all possible means. From this perspective,an ideology may be understood as any philosophy or worldview that holdsthat certain doctrines, ideas, or propositions are more important than human

1. Irwin Altman & Barbara Rogo ,World Views in Psychology: Trait, Interactional, Organ-ismic, and Transactional Perspectives , in 1 Handbook of EnvironmEntal PsycHology 7 (D.Stokols & I. Altman eds., 1987); see also , Duncan R. Babbage & Kevin R. Ronan, Philo-sophical Worldview and Personality Factors in Traditional and Social Scientists: Studying The World in Our Own Image , 28 PErsonality & individual d iffErEncEs 405 (2000).

2. Mark E. Koltko-Rivera, The Psychology of Worldviews , 8 r Ev. g En. PsycHol . 3, 4(2004).

3. See generally id.


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2010 Pr te ti n and Devel pment the Human Spirit 667

beings. Since any moral system a rms that lesser values may be sacri cedto obtain greater values, an ideology sanctionsat least implicitlythedeliberate sacri ce o human beings i it is deemed necessary or the propa-

gation o the doctrines o that ideology.4

The more than 250 million peoplewho were sacri ced in the wars and violence o the twentieth century weresacri ced principally in the name o one or more ideologiescommunism,racialism, or nationalism. 5 A growing number o the victims o terror todayare sacri ced in the name o religion. I the twenty- rst century is to be anydi erent rom the century just ended, it will be so, in part, because ideologieswill have lost the power to justi y acts o brutality, terror, and violence. Inaddition, i human security and development are to nd a rm and stable

oundation, the protection and development o the human spirit will have

to emerge as an appropriate ocus or adjudicating the moral legitimacy o any human act, any social policy, or any cultural or religious practice. Thisessay seeks to explicate and justi y these claims.

II. HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE PRoTEcTIoN oF THE HUMAN SPIRIT

The proper development o a human li e requires an understanding o thenature o value and the application o that understanding in our individual

and collective lives. Two types o value have been identi ed in philosophi-cal literature: intrinsic value, which arises rom the inherent properties andcapacities o an entity; and extrinsic value, which is ascribed to an entitythrough subjective pre erences and social conventions. 6 An example o thelatter is the value ascribed to money. Although little more than a collectiono symbols, organized in ink on paper, money derives all o its utilitarianand symbolic value by the decree o the culture that creates it. In this sensethe value o money can be said to be extrinsic to its inherent nature.

That which is o intrinsic value, by contrast, derives its value, not bysocial agreement, but rom the inherent qualities, powers, and potentiali-ties o the entity in question. The sun, or example, is o value irrespectiveo any individuals opinion about it. Its value is inherent in its being theprimary source o light and warmth in the biosphere and its being the sine qua non or li e and development in the natural world. When a child isborn, she does not know the value o the sun. As the child becomes amiliarwith the principles that govern the laws and processes o nature, she maybecome aware that the sun con ers li e upon our ecosystem. Furthermore,

4. William s. HatcHEr , l ovE, PoWEr and JusticE : t HE d ynamics of a utHEntic morality (BahaiPublishing Trust 1998).

5. r udolPH J. r ummEl , d EatH by g ovErnmEnt (Transactions Publishers 1994).6. HatcHEr , supra note 4.


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were a culture or community to declare that the sun has no value, the cul-tures verdict would not change the value o the sun one iota; rather sucha verdict would betray the cultures ignorance. In this sense, one might say

that while extrinsic value is constructed , intrinsic value is discovered . Theormer emerges as a unction o socialization, while the latter is the ruit o knowledge about the nature and structure o reality.

The human person is o intrinsic value. Human value is inherent in theact that just as nature is dependent upon the sun or its viability, the main-

tenance and advancement o civilization, in all o its orms, depends uponthe cultivation o persons. Inasmuch as the human spirit is that aspect o human identity that transcends all socially constructed aspects o identitysuch as race, gender, culture, and classthe protection and re nement o

this value is the supreme objective o any legitimate social order and maybe regarded as the proper ocus o human rights claims.Human spirit means two things: rst, that capacity o consciousness

that enables the human species, as distinct rom all other known species, toconsciously strive to attain that which is perceived to be true, beauti ul, andgood; and second, is meant that set o aculties and processes that generatea psychological sense o sel , with hopes and aspirations that transcendthe struggle or mere existence and continuity as a biological organism. Thepower to know, to love, and to will are the unique endowments o the hu-

man spirit and it is the protection and development o these endowmentswhich provides the only guarantee o the uture o humankind.

III. HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMAN NEEDS

The unrealized potential o the capacities inherent in the human spirit im-plicates human needs. When human needs are satis ed, human capacitiesbecome capabilities. Thus a need may be understood as a orm o assistancethat is required or the development o a capacity. I the need is not satis ed,the capacity will never develop. Consider the ollowing example:

I we plant an acorn and wish to see it develop, we will have to satis ythe acorns needs. These needs include a certain amount o soil above, be-neath, and around it. I the acorn is buried too deeply, it will never grow;i it does not receive su cient water or sunlight, it will not grow; and i the spring winds do not blow upon it during its li e as a sapling, it will notacquire the strength needed to stand against the all and winter winds inits maturity. The evidences o its healthy development are its capabilities asan oak tree. I it does not develop bark and leaves and branches, and i itdoes not produce sap or acorns or the development o other oak trees, thenwe know that there has been a ailure o development. Further, we wouldnever plant an acorn and expect it to produce oranges, grapes, or bananas.


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The capacities o an entity, thus, x both what it can and cannot become.When the legitimate needs o a living system are satis ed, it comes orthaccording to its nature. So it is also with human beings.

In a similar manner the human capacity to know, love, and will createsneeds. The human capacity to know, or example, implicates a need or edu-cation. Unless this need is satis ed the capacity to know will not developproperly. Similarly, the capacity to love creates the need to belong. Withoutthe satis action o this need, the capacity to love is still born or distorted; thecapacity to will creates the need or a certain measure o reedom. Withoutthe proper exercise o reedom, the inner capacity or autonomy cannotun old. In the satis action o legitimate needs we protect the human spirit.It is or this reason that human needs constitute the logical and pragmatic

bases o all human rights claims.

A. The Human Need r Edu ati n

In its capacity to know, the primary unction and need o the human spirit isto investigate reality. Education consists o the creation and maintenance o the social, moral, and material conditions that are required or the ongoingprocess o deliberate, systematic discovery. When education o the human

spirit is e ective, we see not only the expansion o knowledge, but also adeepening hunger or knowledge.

Knowledge is ood or the human spirit and serves both pragmatic andtranscendent unctions. The practical value o knowledge is that it rendersus more e ective in the world. There are things that can be achieved withknowledge that are unachievable without it. Thus, the utilitarian value o knowledge is that it empowers. One o the ways that the powerless aremaintained in roles o subordination is that they are denied access to edu-cation commensurate with their capacities. The International Con erenceon Population and Development (held in Cairo, Egypt in September, 1994)identi ed education as among the most important means or imparting theinner resources that people need to live healthy lives and to participate ullyin the processes o civilization. 7

The responsibility o states to ensure access to education is a rmed inArticle 26 o the Universal Declaration, which states that, everyone hasthe right to education. 8 Article 1 o the Declaration on Education recallsthat education is a undamental right or all people, women and men, o

7. For a discussion o the goals that animated The International Con erence on Populationand Development, see http://www.un.org/popin/icpd2.htm .

8. Reported in Margaret E. Galey, Women and Education, in WomEn and intErnational Human r igHts l aW 403, 407 (Kelly Askin & Dorean Koenig eds., 1999).


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all ages and that every personchild, youth and adultshall be able tobene t rom educational opportunities designed to meet their basic needs. 9 The role o education is the ull development o the personality, as well as

strengthening respect or human rights and undamental reedoms; promot-ing understanding, tolerance and riendship o all nations, racial or religiousgroups; urthering the activities o the United Nations or maintaining peace;and promoting respect or parents. 10

In addition to the cultivation o sciences and technologies, an e ectiveeducation must include the growth o moral conscience, the cultivation o human virtues, the re nement o humanitys aesthetic sensibilities, and theawakening o the hearts attraction to that which is noble, beauti ul, andtrue. Concern or the ethical aspects o human development is essentially

a concern or the preservation o those transcultural, transhistorical, andtranspersonal values that would redound to the ullest development o hu-man potential.

The development o the inner li e and private character has long beenunderstood as critical to the civilizing process. In The Nicomachean Ethics ,Aristotle avers: the end o political science is the supreme good; and politi-cal science is concerned with nothing so much as with producing a certaincharacter in the citizens or in other words with making them good, andcapable o per orming noble actions. 11 Such notions are not limited to the

Western liberal tradition. In Asia, the Buddha promoted a system o moraleducation based upon the eight old path. 12 His teachings a rm that untilright knowledge, right aspiration, right speech, right behavior, right livelihood,right e ort, right mind ulness, and right absorption characterize the innerand outer li e, neither the person nor the society can be well-ordered. 13

Likewise, Christianity, whose moral and spiritual philosophy embracesthe globe, teaches that man cannot live by bread alone, and that there nement o human character is indispensable to the li e and health o acommunity. 14 Similar assertions are ound in A rican spiritual traditions, as

9. Id.10. Id . at 408.11. a ristotlE , t HE n icomacHEan EtHics 30 (J.E.C. Welldon trans., 1987).12. karEn a rmstrong , buddHa (2001).13. See Huston smitH , t HE World s r Eligions 105 (1991); see also , suHEil busHrui & mEHrdad

massoudi , t HE sPiritual HEritagE of tHE Human r acE: an introduction to tHE World s r Eligions (2010).

14. Christianitys essentially moral orientation to li e and its tendency to link the moralstatus and development o the individual to the good o society is explored in a varietyo scholarly works; See, e.g. , Michael Murray, Philosophy and Christian Theology , t HE s tanford EncycloPEdia of PHilosoPHy , (Fall 2008) available at http://plato.stanford.edu/en-tries/christiantheology-philosophy/ ; see also , H. r icHard n iEbuHr , JamEs m. g ustafson , &William scHWEikEr, t HE r EsPonsiblE sElf: a n Essay in c Hristian moral PHilosoPHy (Westminster

John Knox Press 1999) (1963).


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well as in the Zoroastrian, Hindu, Islamic, and Jewish aiths. 15 There is clearlysome trans-cultural basis or giving consideration to the moral dimensionso human development.

b. The Need t bel ng

The capacity to love implicates the human need to belong. I we are tocultivate and re ne humanitys innate capacity to love, our legitimate needto be connected in meaning ul ways to others, our need to enjoy a rela-tionship to nature, and our need to be in relation to that which is beauti uland good must be satis ed. Love is essentially a power o attraction. When

humans are attracted to knowledge, the capacity to discover new truthsabout ourselves and the world is developed. When we are attracted to, andanimated by, a concern or beauty, the capacity or the arts un olds; andwhen we are attracted to that which is good, humanitys inner capacities ormoral refection and noble action are realized. Since the capacity to love isan inherent and inseparable eature o human consciousness, human beingsare, o necessity, in a state o loving something. The challenge is to re nehuman sensibilities so that the power o love is ocused on that which wouldredound to mutual development and well-being.

c. The Need r Freed m

The capacity to will suggests the need or a certain measure o reedom.Without a measure o reedom, humans can never develop as moral agents

or the development o moral aculties requires the exercise o the capacityto choose. We must seek to maximize human reedom in order to optimizethe development o inner autonomy. 16 While reedom may be conceptual-ized as liberty rom arbitrary external constraints, autonomy is liberty romthat inner ignorance that prevents us rom choosing wisely.

IV. ETHIcS AND HUMAN DEVELoPMENT

The search or conditions o justice and equity that osters the health o individuals and societies has inspired renewed refection on the relation-ship between ethics and development. Increasing numbers o theorists,human rights workers, and researchers a rm that it is unlikely that we will

15. busHrui & massoudi , supra note 13.16. This ormulation, given in a personal communication, is the brainchild o William S.

Hatcher.


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be able to achieve human prosperity within the materialistic paradigm thathas animated human rights and development discourse over the last hal century. 17 Indeed, as the Institute or Studies in Global Prosperity recently

noted, [a]s a vision o society, the relentless pursuit o wealth in an im-personal marketplace and the renetic experimentation with various ormso sel -indulgence are being rejected as irrelevant to the awakening hopesand energies o individuals in all parts o the planet. 18 For in the ace o mounting evidence, most o which can be adduced by examination o thehealth and development o the worlds children, it is no longer possibleto maintain the belie that the approach to social and economic progressto which the materialistic conception o li e has given rise is capable o leading humanity to the tranquility and prosperity which it seeks. 19 To the

contrary, li ting the burden o poverty rom the world, and advancing thebest interest o humanity, will require a deep moral commitment and aundamental reordering o priorities: Attention must now be ocused upon

that which lies at the heart o human purpose and motivation: the humanspirit. . . . [As] nothing short o an awakening o the human spirit can cre-ate a desire or true social change and instill in people the con dence thatsuch change is possible. 20

V. HUMAN IDENTITY AND HUMAN cAPAbILITIES

Much has been written o late on the nature o human identity and its rela-tion to human rights. 21 Such a concern is grounded in the recognition thatwe cannot protect human rights unless we have a clear sense o what pre-cisely we are seeking to protect when we advance human rights policy. Thelate educator and developmental psychologist, Daniel Jordan, or example,tells the story o a man who lives in the country and is thus isolated romthe bene ts o modern technology. Such a man learns shortly a ter he getselectricity and a radio that he has won a re rigerator rom one o the nearbyradio stations. When the re rigerator is delivered to his door, the new owner

17. For excellent discussions o this theme, see t HE l ab , tHE t EmPlE, and tHE markEt : r EflEctions at tHE intErsEction of sciEncE, r Eligion , and d EvEloPmEnt (Sharon M.P. Harper ed., 2000)[hereina ter t HE l ab , tHE t EmPlE, and tHE markEt ] and ElEna mustakova -Possardt c ritical c onsciousnEss : a s tudy of morality in g lobal , Historical c ontExt (2003).

18. Institute or Studies in Global Prosperity, Science, Religion and Development: Some Initial Considerations (2000) http://www.globalprosperity.org/initial_considerations.html .

19 Id.20. Bah International Community, Religious Values and the Measurement of Poverty and

Prosperity , 1 (1999) prepared for Values, Norms and Poverty: A Consultation on theWorld Development Report 2000, available at http://bic.org/statements-and-reports/ bic-statements/99- 0112.htm.

21. See, e.g. , the work o Martha Nussbaum, Amartya Sen, Raimond Gaita, among manyothers.


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instructs that it be placed on the porch whereupon he brings out his hats,overalls, and shoes and lls it. 22 While a re rigerator can certainly be usedto store these things, use o it in this way betrays a lack o understanding

o the ull identity and nature o a re rigerator. At the heart o the problemo identity is the inescapable question o an entitys capacities. As Aristotlenoted, i you come upon an acorn and do not know that the acorn containswithin it the potential to become an oak tree, you do not know the identityo an acorn.23 In a similar way human identity must be understood in termso the capacities or development that distinguish human li e rom all other

orms o existence.As the most complex phenomenon in the known universe, the human

brain and body make possible the mani estation o the powers o the hu-

man spirit in much the same way that a mirror provides a means or themani estation o the qualities o light. The human spirit mani ests itsel inthe phenomenon o sel , which is that transcendent dimension o humanexistence that con ers upon humanity a degree o reedom and responsibil-ity ound nowhere else in nature. The human spirit, sel , or consciousnessdevelops gradually over the li e o the individual. At early stages o humandevelopment, the powers o the human spiritwhich include the power toknow, to love, and to willare mani ested in ways that are indistinguishable

rom the qualities o mind that characterize other species.

In in ancy, or example, the power o knowledge tends to be limited toinstinctual awareness. 24 Furthermore, classical conditioningwherein theorganism responds unconsciously and refexively to environmental stimulitends to be the primary mode o learning. The power o will at this earlystage is characterized by automatism, and love is mani ested in the instinctual

orm o bonding.25 As in ancy gives way to childhood, an individuals nativeintelligence begins to mani est itsel , and is applied to the exploration o theworld and the acquisition o sensory-motor skills. 26 Reactions, mediated bya maturing will, tend to be emotion-based; and bodily desirescenteredin the pursuit o pleasure and the avoidance o painprovide the primaryincentives or action. Love, at this stage o development, is under stimuluscontrol, and is understood as that which provides sensual grati cation. 27

22. d aniEl c. Jordan , bEcoming your t ruE sElf: HoW tHE baHa i f aitH r ElEasEs Human PotEntial (Bahai Distribution Service 1994).

23. n icHolas c aPaldi , t HEEnligHtEnmEnt ProJEct in tHE a nalytic c onvErsation 46 (1998); c HristoPHEr d. g rEEn & PHiliP r. g roff , Early PsycHological t HougHt : anciEnt a ccounts of mind and soul 67 (2003); sir d avid r oss , a ristotlE (4th ed. 1949).

24. samuEl blumbErg , basic instinct : t HE g EnEsis of bEHavior (2005).25. JErEmy HolmEs , JoHn boWlby and a ttacHmEnt t HEory (1993); carol g. m oonEy , t HEoriEs of

a ttacHmEnt : a n introduction to boWlby , a insWortH , g ErbEr, b razElton , & klaus (2010).26. JEanEttE mcc artHy g allagHEr & d. k im r Eid, t HEl Earning t HEory of PiagEt and inHEldEr (Brooks/

Cole Pub. Co. 2002) (1981).27. t Homas l EWis, f ari a mini & r icHard l annon , a g EnEral t HEory of l ovE (Vintage 2001)

(2000).


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In early adolescence, the powers o consciousness expand, and healthyindividuals begin to mani est meta-cognitive abilities that permit refection onthe abstract dimensions o existence. 28 During this stage o development, the

capacities that distinguish humans rom other orms o li e begin to becomemore pronounced. The power to know, or instance, transcends knowledgeo the material world and begins to encompass systems o thought and o value. The power o will is mani ested as the power to decidebased onconsideration o an array o options; and love moves rom a largely sensual andemotion-based phenomena to one that is more conscious and refective. 29

I an individuals horizons broaden urther, she can begin to acquire atype o knowledge that is re erred to as enlightened awareness or wisdom. 30 At this stage, consciousness is illumined by universal ethical principles, and

the power o will yields in service to others. Love, too, becomes enlightenedby a genuine concern or the well-being and happiness o others, and thecapacity or sel -sacri ce becomes increasingly mani est.31 It is this expan-sion o human consciousness, refected ultimately in human behavior, thatis described by the Persian philosopher, Abdul-Bah:

Every imper ect soul is sel -centered and think(s) only o his own good. But as histhoughts expand a little he will begin to think o the wel are and com ort o his

amily. I his ideas still more widen, his concern will be the elicity o his ellowcitizens; and i still they widen, he will be thinking o the glory o his land ando his race. But when ideas and views reach the utmost degree o expansionand attain the stage o per ection, then will he be interested in the exaltation o humankind. He will then be the well-wisher o all men and the seeker o theweal and prosperity o all lands. This is indicative o per ection. 32

As individuals advance through each stage o development, the qualities andcapacities acquired at earlier stages are not lost; nor are they to be viewedas anything less than essential in the developmental process. The matureand healthy person has not learned to deny or repress his or her bodily or

psychological needs, but has learned to satis y those needs in a mannercommensurate with a set o ethical principles that take into considerationhuman dignity and interdependence. 33

28. JoHn d unlosky & JanEt mEtcalfE , mEtacognition : a t Extbook for c ognitivE , Educational , l ifE sPan & aPPliEd PsycHology (2008).

29. l EWis Et al ., supra note 27.30. Paul B. Baltes, Judith Glck, & Ute Kunzmann, Wisdom: Its Structure and Function in

Regulating Successful Life Span Development, in Handbook of PositivE PsycHology (C.R.Snyder & Shane J. Lopez eds., 2002).

31. Hossain b. d anEsH , t HEPsycHology of sPirituality : from d ividEd sElf to intEgratEd sElf (LandeggAcademy Press, 1997).

32. abdu l-baH , sElEctions from tHE Writings of abdu l -baH (Bah World Centre & MarziehGail trans., 1978).

33. For thought ul discussions o this theme, see EricH f romm , man f or HimsElf: a n inquiry into tHE PsycHology of EtHics (Owl Books 1990) (1947) and EricH f romm , t HE a natomy of Human d EstructivEnEss (Owl Books 1992) (1973).


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The question o identity is so critical because con usion about the natureo human identity has been at the root o some o the worlds most destruc-tive ideologiesracism, sexism, and nationalism. Such con usion has ueled

many human rights abuses over the course o the twentieth century.

VI. THE oNToLoGIcAL bASIS oF THE oNENESS oF HUMANkIND

O the many scienti c truths discovered in the last century, none is morepro ound in its implications than is the knowledge o interdependence. Fromthe smallest particles o matter to the grandest stars and planets, the universeis a tightly woven abric o interconnected energies, entities, and processes.

In the biological world, the unity o diverse parts is the cause and sign o li e, while disunity is the cause and sign o death. I we want to know i an organism is dying, we examine whether its diverse component parts areable to unction together in some coordinated ashion. In animals, we mightmonitor vital signsrespiration, heart rate, liver and kidney unctioning,and digestion. These diverse systems must unction in such a manner thatthe entire system bene ts. In the absence o constant eedback concerningthe health and needs o the whole, the unctioning o each component partbecomes increasingly impaired. As a result, the whole organism begins to

die. In addition, a living system survivesnot because every component parthas the same characteristicsbut because every part is di erent.

This metaphor may also be applied to the social sphere. For example,on a societal level, the nations o the world, which are made up o ethnic,racial, religious, and cultural groups, constitute the diverse parts that mustwork together in some harmonious ashion i humanity is to ully prosperand evolve. A society whose member groups are in constant competitionand confict will be unable to cultivate or use its limited resources in thebest manner. The conficts that divide blacks rom whites, women rommen, Muslims rom Jews, conservatives rom liberals, the middle-class andwealthy rom the poor, all pose serious threats to the uture viability o theworld. Changes now taking place in Americas demographic make-up

just to cite one examplewill only exacerbate these conficts i a deeperunderstanding o the value and uses o diversity or human happiness andprosperity is not cultivated.

In the twenty- rst century, or example, minority racial and ethnic groupsin the United States will outnumber whites. 34 The Hispanic population willincrease by about 21 percent; Asians will grow by 22 percent, blacks by 12percent, and whites by less than 3 percent. 35 Within twenty- ve years, the

34. William A. Henry, Beyond the Melting Pot, TIME, 9 Apr. 1990, at 28.35. Id.


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number o Americans who are Hispanic or nonwhite will have doubled tonearly 115 million, while the white population will have barely increasedat all. 36 In about sixty years, the typical American will no longer trace his

or her ancestry back to Europe, but will have come rom Asia, A rica, Southor Central America, the Middle or Far East, or the Paci c Islands. 37 As Time writer William Henry III observed, The ormer majority will learn, as anormal part o everyday li e, the meaning o the Latin slogan engraved onUS coinsE Pluribus Unum , one ormed rom many.38

For many o the nations students, the browning o America is a vis-ible reality. O New Yorks elementary and secondary school children 40percent are ethnic minorities. Hispanics, Asians, and blacks outnumberwhite students in Cali ornia. Large numbers o Vietnamese call San Jose

their home and thousands upon thousands o Hmong re ugees now live inSt. Paul, Minnesota. 39 Every year about 100 million people will leave their native homes in

search o greater economic, political, or religious reedom. 40 The destinationo choice or many o the worlds people continues to be the US. But mil-lions are also migrating to the relatively homogeneous countries o Europe.I the nations o the world are to draw rom the enormous human capitalthat new immigrants bring, we will have to do more to promote the dignity,well-being, and rights o all peoples, while also rendering human diversity

a source o the nations social capital.While the natural sciences have illuminated the processes that acili-

tate unity in diversity in the mineral, plant, and animal kingdoms, we areonly recently beginning to understand the uni ying orces that harmonizethe diverse needs and interests o human beings. The most potent o these

orces is love. Love is not a luxury reserved or starry-eyed youth, but thebond that unites amilies, communities, and nations.

VII. LoVE AND JUSTIcE: PRE-REQUISITES FoR HEALTHYDEVELoPMENT

True loveas distinguished rom mere in atuationis refected in a myriado principles and values that make amily and community li e possible. 41

36. Id.37. Id.38. Id.39. Id.40. See u nitEd n ations o fficE for tHE c oordination of Humanitarian a ffairs , intErnally d isPlacEd

PEoPlE: ExilEd in tHEir HomEland (2008), http://ochaonline.un.org/NewsInFocus/Internal-lyDisplacedPeopleIDPs/tabid/5132/language/en-US/Default.aspx .

41. Pitirim a. s orokin , t HE Ways and PoWEr of l ovE: t yPEs, f actors , and t EcHniquEs of moral t ransformation (Templeton Foundation Press 2002) (1954).


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Among these principles are justice, delity, compassion, trustworthiness,courtesy, orbearance, sel -sacri ce, and a willingness to pursue and de endwhat is right and true. Whenever these values are distorted or undeveloped,

the spirit o love begins to dissipate. The result is chaos, con usion, violence,and a gradual collapse o the social order. I ethnic, inter-religious, and racerelations are in critical conditions, the situation can be improved only througha wider, more sincere application o these love-related principles.

O all love-related values, justice is the most important. Justice regulatesthe expression o individual sel -interests by requiring that the rights andneeds o others be taken into consideration when determining a course o action. In this way, justice embodies the recognition o interdependence andmakes community li e possible. In the absence o justice, disunity, confict,

and resentments are catalyzed, and the social world becomes dangerousand unpredictable. 42 In their recent statement on the Prosperity of Humankind , the Bahai

International Community explains that there are many levels on which tounderstand justice. 43 On an individual level, justice is that uniquely humanpower that enables us to distinguish truth rom alsehood or right rom wrong.Conscience serves as a guide to human action.

On a group or community level, the sustaining pillars o justice arereward and punishment. When properly applied, these twin orces provide

a potent means or individual and collective sa ety and development. In theabsence o justice, rewards and punishments become the instruments o domination, exploitation, and abuse. In such a context some prosper at theexpense o others; some have their needs and interests grati ed, while thee orts and needs o others go unrecognized. Once we accept the concepto the oneness o humankind, whenever we witness great wealth amidstgalling poverty, we can be sure that injustice has played a major role.

Relevant to this discussion is the research o two social scientists that havedeveloped the concept o possible selves . Hazel Markus and Paula Nuriushave shown that young peoples willingness to delay immediate grati cationand to work hard or important uture goals, is dependent upon assessmentsthey make about their uture possible selves. Everyone, according to theresearchers, has a set o eared selves and hoped or selves. 44 A earedpossible sel might include the image o me in prison while a hoped orsel might include the image o me as a doctor.

42. See Robert C. Orr, Building Peace in El Salvador: From Exception to Rule, in PEacEbuilding as Politics : c ultivating PEacE in f ragilE sociEtiEs 153, 157 & 16567 (Elisabeth M. Cousens,Chetan Kumar & Karin Wermester eds., 2002).

43. baHa i intErnational c ommunity , t HE ProsPErity of Humankind 2 (1995), available at http:// re erence.bahai.org/download/prh-en-pd .zip.

44. Hazel Markus & Paula Nurius, Possible Selves , 41 a m. PsycHologist 954 (1986); see also , Daphna Oyserman & Hazel R. Markus, Possible Selves and Delinquency , 59 J. of PErsonality & soc . PsycHol . 112 (1990).


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Their work has shown that people must have both hopes and ears i they are to achieve important goals. 45 Young people who have eared selves(me in prison) without corresponding hoped or selves (me as a doctor)

will not be deterred rom crime by threats o imprisonment. Fear infuencesan individuals behavior only i it threatens the loss o a valued possiblesel . Thus i an individual can see no real options or becoming what shedreams o becoming, such an individual cannot be prevented rom com-mitting crimes by increasing the severity o threats. This is one reason whythe present approach to crime in so many o the worlds inner cities is soine ective.

In situations o injustice, hoped or selves cannot be realized. As a result,peoples eared selves no longer serve as deterrents. They grow to disregard

the justice-related principles that govern community li e because they do notexpect to derive the bene ts that are associated with respecting the rightso others. Correspondingly, the threatened loss o reedom, in the absenceo viable options or exercising reedom, is meaningless. The consequenceis lawlessness and a collapse o civil societies.

VIII. FRoM cHILDHooD To MATURITY

O the various phases o human development, nonewith the exception o the rst ew months o li eare characterized by as much tumult, con usion,and trans ormation as is adolescence. For those amiliar with the processes o growth, the upheavals that attend the adolescent phase o development areunderstood as necessary precursors to the young persons long-awaited com-ing o age.46 During the past century and a hal , humanity has experiencedrapid, revolutionary change in nearly every aspect o li e. The globosity anddiversity o change renders a developmental metaphor more than apt. In thewords o Lori Nagouchi, Holly Hanson, and Paul Lample:

Whether in government or law, in science or industry, or in the relationshipsbetween individuals and nations, reevaluation and innovation have become therule. New knowledge and new understandings are uprooting age-old practiceseverywhere. Society, in all its aspects, economic, political and cultural, is under-going a process o undamental trans ormation. Accelerated change in so manyareas o human li e has posed unprecedented challenges to previously acceptedmoral codes and belie systems. The deepening crisis in which mankind ndsitsel starkly demonstrates the inability o these systems to satis y the demandso an age o trans ormation.47

45. Id .46. l aurEncE s tEinbErg , a dolEscEncE (8th ed. 2007).47. l ori mc l augHlin n ogucHi , Holly Hanson & Paul l amPlE, ExPloring a f ramEWork for moral

Education : a f ramEWork for an Evolving a PProacH to moral Education basEd on tHE c oncEPt of moral c aPabilitiEs (1992).


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I the challenges o the present hour are to be met, the attitudes, thoughts,and habits o childhood will no longer su ce. Collectively, we are calledupon to abandon the ways o youth, and to develop those qualities o mind,

heart, and behavior that will enable us to respond be ttingly to the pressingrequirements o a new age. It is within the context o humanitys passage tomaturity, as well as or the development o a civilization that embodies theprinciple o unity in diversity, that a new, all embracing process o institu-tional and individual trans ormation, must take place.

Ix. cULTURE AND THE PRobLEM oF VALUE

One aspect o worldview with signi cant implications or human li e anddevelopment revolves around the problem o value. The problem o valueinvolves at least three questions: 1) does value exist independently o theobserver or is it merely a unction o personal and collective pre erences;2) what should be valued and why; and 3) is there anything that should bevalued above all else, and i so, what should this be?

As suggested earlier, it is use ul to distinguish between socially con-structed value, and value whose existence is independent o human pre er-ences, but conditional upon human learning and re nement. In an important

paper titled, The Typology o Moral Ecology, the moral philosopher SvendBrinkmann conceptualized the human world as a moral ecology; as ameaning ul world with moral properties that present human beings withmoral reasons or action. 48 In contrast to a perspective which holds that allvalues are impositions o human will, Brinkmann maintains that the topos o human li ethat is, the eld o concern that is the space wherein humanslive out their daysis saturated with moral reasons or action and that thehuman community does not attain its potential excellence (its arte ) unlessit acquires the capacity to respond appropriately to the moral imperatives o human existence. 49 For example, Brinkmann has argued that some humanacts are brutal and we must come to recognize brutality when it is pres-ent. 50 To perceive brutality requires the cultivation o the human capacity orcompassion and concern. Without the development o such an inner eye,acts o brutality do not awaken in us the proper response.

The claim that all values are cultural constructions threatens the ratio-nal and pragmatic basis o human and civil rightsas such a perspectiverenders it possible to legitimize acts o exploitation and brutality so longas culturally coherent rationales can be adduced in their de ense. It is best

48. Svend Brinkmann, The Topography of Moral Ecology , 14 t HEory & PsycHol . 57 (2004).49. Id. at 5960, 6566.50. Id. at 66.


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to evaluate what is o value by asking what would best promote healthyhuman development, what would strengthen the spirit o solidarity amongand between peoples, and what would maximize protection o the natural

world. The lens through which such questions should be explored is thelens o justice.

x. HUMAN VULNERAbILITY AND NEED

Human rights are necessary, not only because o the abuses committed bystates, but because o the problems o human vulnerability and need. Asno natural system is entirely sel -su cient, living things are in a perpetual

state o need. The human rights problem must thus address the ollowingquestions: 1) what do people need in order to realize their ull humanity;and 2) how might human needs be legitimately satis ed?

Four needs have been associated with human li e: biological needs thatmust be satis ed in order to acilitate physical growth and survival; associa-tional needs related to the hunger or riendship, amily, community, andlove; esteem needs , which are associated with the desire to make a di er-ence, to leave a mark, and to have had ones li e matter; and transcendence needs which are expressed in the human proclivity to reach beyond the

con nes o the ego towards that unknowable essence o essences that somehave called God.

The challenge o human vulnerability to hunger, su ering, isolation,dehumanization, and meaninglessness can be adequately addressed withina paradigm that recognizes the oneness and wholeness o the entire humanrace. In a letter addressed to Queen Victoria, the ounder o the Bahai move-ment compared the world o humanity to the human body. 51 Commentingon this comparison, the Universal House o Justice made an observationthat deserves to be quoted at length:

There is, indeed, no other model in phenomenal existence to which we canreasonably look. Human society is composed not o a mass o merely di erenti-ated cells but o associations o individuals, each one o whom is endowed withintelligence and will; nevertheless, the modes o operation that characterize mansbiological nature illustrate undamental principles o existence. Chie amongthese is that o unity in diversity. Paradoxically, it is precisely the wholeness andcomplexity o the order constituting the human bodyand the per ect integra-tion into it o the bodys cellsthat permit the ull realization o the distinctivecapacities inherent in each o these component elements. No cell lives apart

rom the body, whether in contributing to its unctioning or in deriving its sharerom the well-being o the whole. The physical well-being thus achieved nds

51. baHa i intErnational c ommunity , supra note 43, 1.


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its purpose in making possible the expression o human consciousness; that isto say, the purpose o biological development transcends the mere existenceo the body and its parts.

What is true o the li e o the individual has its parallels in human society.The human species is an organic whole, the leading edge o the evolutionaryprocess. That human consciousness necessarily operates through an in nite di-versity o individual minds and motivations detracts in no way rom its essentialunity. Indeed, it is precisely an inhering diversity that distinguishes unity romhomogeneity or uni ormity. What the peoples o the world are today experiencing. . . is their collective coming-o -age, and it is through this emerging maturity o the race that the principle o unity in diversity will nd ull expression. 52

xI. HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE PRobLEM oF AUTHoRITY

The problem o authority is commonly at the heart o questions o humanrights and involves a series o questions related to the legitimate or moralacquisition and use o power in the governance o others: 1) What are thelegitimate rights and responsibilities o governments; 2) What qualities shouldbe sought in leaders and who should participate in selecting them; and 3)What structure o governance is best or human happiness and development.

These questions have been at the oundation o e orts to secure and protecthuman rights, while also honoring and protecting national sovereignty andcultural diversity. 53 Inasmuch as cultures are commonly in confict about howbest to live, the problem o authority also involves epistemological questionsconcerning the legitimate and reliable sources o authentic knowledge. A

ull exploration o these themes is well beyond the scope o this paper. Nev-ertheless, it is use ul to undertake a brie exploration o one dimension o the epistemological aspect o the problem o authority as it has become sosalient in the struggle between religious groups, and in the confict between

cultural values and human rights demands.

A. Human Rights and Religi us Auth rity

An important achievement that distinguishes the modern era rom earlierages is the realization that truth claims cannot rest solely on the status o the speaker. Rather, they should be well justi ed. Such justi cation may

52. I d .53. See HElEn m. s tacEy , Human r igHts for tHE 21st c Entury : sovErEignty , c ivil sociEty , c ulturE

(2009); John Tilley Cultural Relativism 22 Hum . r ts . q. 501 (2000); Michael J. Perry Are Human Rights Universal? The Relativist Challenge and Related Matters 19 Hum . r ts . q. 461 (1997).


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be ound in the logical coherence o the claims, in the phenomenologicalevidence that can be adduced as we examine the impact o a set o belie son the lives o those who live by them, or in the scienti c work that enables

us to subject truth claims to radical doubt and empirical scrutiny.54

In contrast to the social teachings that di er widely rom one traditionto the next, the moral truths that underlie the worlds religious traditionsenjoy logical coherence, appear to have a bene cial impact on the lives o those who live by them, and have been increasingly validated by researchthat examines the conditions that best acilitate the physical, psychological,and economic health o individuals and societies. 55 These moral truths arecaptured simply in the golden rule. The Dalai Lama spoke o this underly-ing unity when he noted: Every religion emphasizes human improvement,

love, respect or others, sharing other peoples su ering. On these linesevery religion had more or less the same viewpoint and the same goal. 56 These moral truths, sustained and supported as they are by centuries o ap-plication and decades o research 57, need not be abandoned simply becausethose who brought them may have made special metaphysical claims asto their origins.

But the problem o authority raises another concern that the peopleso the world, and most especially the worlds religious leaders, will have tosooner or later con ront. The problem is that in contrast to other segments

o society that have begun to embrace the implications o the oneness o humankind, the greater part o organized religion stands paralyzed at thethreshold o the uture, gripped in those very dogmas and claims o privi-leged access to truth that have been responsible or creating some o themost bitter conficts dividing the earths inhabitants. 58

54. Michael L. Penn, The Historical and Conceptual Development of Critical Thinking, in c ritical t Hinking (Behrooz Sabet ed., 2008).

55. See generally c HristoPHEr PEtErson & martin E.P. sEligman , c HaractEr strEngtHs and v irtuEs :a H andbook and c lassification (2004); o xford Handbook of PositivE PsycHology (Shane J.Lopez & C.R. Snyder eds., Ox ord University Press 2d ed. 2009); Ed d iEnEr & robErt bisWas -d iEnEr, HaPPinEss: u nlocking tHE mystEriEs of PsycHological WEaltH (2008); Harold g.koEnig , is r Eligion g ood for your HEaltH ?: t HE EffEcts of r Eligion on PHysical and mEntal HEaltH (1997).

56. See generally Dalai Lama, available at http://www.religioustolerance.org/reciproc.htm.57. See generally t HE g oldEn r ulE : t HE EtHics of r EciProcity in World r Eligions (Jacob Neusner

& Bruce D. Chilton, eds., 2009); q.c. t Erry , g oldEn r ulEs and s ilvEr r ulEs of Humanity :u nivErsal Wisdom of c ivilization (2004); H.t.d. r ost , t HE g oldEn r ulE : a u nivErsal EtHic (1986).

58. u nivErsal HousE of JusticE , t o t HEWorld s r Eligious l EadErs 3 (Apr. 2002), available at http:// in o.bahai.org/pd /letter_april2002_english.pd .


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b. Religi us Auth rity and Inter-religi us c nfi t

As the Universal House o Justice noted, it is ironic that when the twentieth

century opened, the one orm o intolerance that seemed most likely tosuccumb to the orces o change was religious prejudice. 59 The rst Parlia-ment o Religion which occurred in the all o 1893 suggested a thawing o tensions and animosities between the worlds religious aiths, the inter aithmovement appeared to have been gaining momentum, comparative religiousstudies programs were beginning to emerge at colleges and universities, andstrong sentiments o equality and validity were being widely expressed. 60 Ultimately these initiatives were to prove ine ective because they lackedeither intellectual coherence or spiritual commitment. 61

While it is air to admit that the spiritual heritage o humankind embod-ies a vast reservoir o resources rom which to draw, these resources mustbe seen in the historical context under which they were rst given. Further-more, although the spiritual truths embodied in the worlds great religionsmay remain largely valid, the everyday lives o those o us who occupy theplanet at the dawn o the twenty- rst century are vastly di erent rom thecircumstances that animated the lives o those who received these truthsseveral millennia ago. For these reasons the social teachings given in manyo the worlds aiths prove now to be outdated.

Democratic decision-making, or example, has altered the relationshipo the individual to authority. Since the early nineteenth century, womenhave struggled to achieve ull equality with men; irreversible developmentsin science and technology have altered both the unctioning and conceptiono society, and o existence itsel . Near universal access to education hasled to new elds o creativity and new insights that stimulate, at an everincreasing rate, experimentation with social mobility, re ormation o lawsand customs, pioneering explorations in stem cell and genomic research,cultivation o nuclear energy, sexual experimentation, ecological stress,and access to levels o personal wealth and power that are without prec-edent. These changed conditions serve as signi cant barriers to promotinga revitalization or re-emergence o inherited systems o belie . These newdevelopments are linked to the ancient past because the moral implicationso human li e and action continue to be unavoidable. The worlds religiousleaders are con ronted with the moral and spiritual responsibility o seeingthe systems to which they bear allegiance rom a resh perspective. They will

59. See u nivErsal HousE of JusticE , o nE c ommon f aitH (2005) available at http://re erence.bahai.org/download/oc -en-pd .zip.

60. Id .; see also , t HE c ommunity of r Eligions : voicEs and imagEs of tHE ParliamEnt of tHE World s r Eligions (Wayne Teasdale & George F. Cairns eds., 1996).

61. u nivErsal HousE of JusticE , supra note 59.


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have to sooner or later select those aspects o their traditions that deservecontinued support, and distinguish these rom those that have outlived theiruse ulness:

I long-cherished ideals and time-honoured institutions, i certain social assump-tions and religious ormulae have ceased to promote the wel are o the generalityo mankind, i they no longer minister to the needs o a continually evolvinghumanity, let them be swept away and relegated to the limbo o obsolescentand orgotten doctrines. Why should these, in a world subject to the immutablelaw o change and decay, be exempt rom the deterioration that must needsovertake every human institution? For legal standards, political and economictheories are solely designed to sa eguard the interests o humanity as a whole,and not humanity to be cruci ed or the preservation o the integrity o anyparticular law or doctrine. 62

xII. HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE PRobLEM oF SUFFERING

The problem o su ering animates much contemporary discourse on humanrights. Increasingly, relie o su ering is seen as among the most importantobjectives that underlie the e ort to promote human rightsand so thisconcern is briefy addressed here.

Experimental psychopathologists strive to create in the laboratory, usuallyusing animals, conditions that mimic the onset o psychological disease anddisability in humans. An especially interesting condition to examine is theimpact o exposure to uncontrollable events on human health and develop-ment. To expose an organism to an uncontrollable experience is to render ithelpless; and to be helpless is to be in a condition wherein our actions donot infuence what happens to us. In such circumstances the outcomes thatwe experience are under the control o arbitrary or random orces. Over thelast three decades a great deal o research has been done on the impact o

helplessness on individuals and groups. 63

A. Su ering and Injusti e

In a typical helplessness experiment, the triadic design is employed. Thisdesign enables researchers to expose one group o subjects to unpleasantcontrollable events, a second group o subjects to unpleasant uncontrollable

62. Shoghi E endi,quoted in Universal House o Justice 1985 statement, The Promise o World Peace, 36, available at http://re erence.bahai.org/en/t/uhj/PWP/pwp-1.html.

63. martin E.P. sEligman , l EarnEd HElPlEssnEss: o n d EPrEssion , d EvEloPmEnt and d EatH (Freeman1992) (1975); mario mikulincEr , Human l EarnEd HElPlEssnEss : a c oPing PErsPEctivE (C.R.Snyder ed., 1994).


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events, and a third group to neither uncontrollable nor controllable events. 64 The triadic design is illuminating because the subjects that are in the rsttwo conditions (the controllable and uncontrollable conditions) are exposed

to exactly the same amount o the aversive experience ( or example, a loudbuzzing noise) or exactly the same amount o time. When the subjects inthe controllable condition gure out what they can do to turn o the noise,the noise goes o or the subjects in the uncontrollable condition as well.We say that the subjects in this latter condition are helpless because thereis nothing that they can do to stop the noise. Their destiny, with respect tothe noise, is determined wholly by the actions o another.

At early stages o a helplessness experiment, the subjects will do all thatthey can to avoid or stop the noxious stimulus. Sometimes they must solve

a puzzle, or run through a maze, or jump over a barrier in order to turn o or avoid the noxious stimulus. 65 In the uncontrollable condition, subjectsare exposed to situations in which they cannot solve the puzzle, go throughthe maze, or get over a barrier, but they do not know that the experiment isdesigned or them to ail. When subjects in this condition come to realizethat their actions do not have an e ect, they stop acting and begin to su erthe noxious stimulus passively. 66 We have seen helplessness de cits developin a wide range o speciesincluding rats, cats, gold sh, cockroaches, andhumansand thus we know that controllability is undamental to li e at

every level o existence.67Controllability is vital to so many species because it is connected with

the more pervasive and undamental law o cause and e ect. The operation o the law o causality is the mani estation o the principle o justice in nature.Because o the operation o this law, the natural world is rendered orderlyand predictable. This order and predictability renders the natural world aplace wherein organisms can develop their inherent capacities. Causesand e ects take on hedonic value and may be experienced as rewards andpunishments by organisms that have the cognitive capacity to pre er thatsome e ects be realized while others are avoided. The expectation o rewardand the ear o punishment are critical in ueling human development andare major pillars sustaining the social world. For this reason, when policies,practices, and laws are arbitrary, corrupt, or discriminatory, the social orderbecomes chaotic, and the processes o human individual and collectivedevelopment are signi cantly arrested.

64. sEligman , supra note 63; mikulincEr , supra note 63.65. See Judy g arbEr & martin E.P. sEligman , Human HElPlEssnEss: t HEory and a PPlications

(1980).66. Id.67. Id.


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b. Justi e and Human Devel pment

When humans are exposed to ongoing orms o injusticewhich is really the

only orm o su ering that appears to infict enduring harm68

the develop-ment o their inherent capacities are signi cantly thwarted. 69 This is the reasonwhy the advancement o civil and human rights, using the instrumentalityo law, has been so vital. However, justice is more than a legal condition.It is at once a social process, a human virtue, and a healthy communitysgoal. The development and maintenance o justice thus requires more thana body o laws, and more than the institutional arrangements necessaryto apply and administer those laws. It requires, as the early Greek 70 andChinese philosophers 71 knew well, a process o citizen cultivation and the

re nement o human character.In its most primitive usage, law derives its power to protect againstanarchy and against civil and human rights abuses by the orce o threat itimposes upon would-be transgressors. In its more re ned mani estation, lawevokes a sense o appreciation or the rightness or goodness o the socialreality it seeks to protect. In the latter case, laws are obeyed not so muchout o a ear o punishment as out o an awareness o , and an attraction to,the ultimate meaning and purpose in li e that the law seeks to embody andadvance. Harold Berman argued: Law itsel , in all societies, encourages

the belie in its own sanctity. It puts orward its claim to obedience in waysthat appeal not only to the material, impersonal, nite, rational interests o the people who are asked to observe it but also to their aith in a truth, a

justice that transcends social utility. 72 Where people ail to apprehend the transcendent dimensions o law,

the social order is jeopardized because people obey the law inso ar as theybelieve that they will not be orced to su er the consequences imposed uponthose who transgress it. Since many orms o exploitation and abuse areperpetrated under the blanket o secrecy and corruption, a wholly legalisticapproach to protecting human rights will continue to prove inadequate.

68. t HEHandbook of Posttraumatic g roWtH : r EsEarcH and PracticE (Lawrence Calhoun & RichardTedeschi eds., Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 2006); Posttraumatic g roWtH : PositivE c HangEs in tHE a ftErmatH of c risis (Richard Tedeschi, Crystal Park & Lawrence Calhoun eds., 1998);t rauma , r EcovEry , and g roWtH : PositivE PsycHological PErsPEctivEs on Posttraumatic s trEss (Stephen Joseph & P. Alex Linley eds., 2008).

69. See t raumatic s trEss : t HE EffEcts of o vErWHElming ExPEriEncE on mind , body , and sociEty (Bes-sel A. van der Kolk, Alexander McFarlane & Lars Weisaeth eds., 2006); JuditH HErman ,t rauma and r EcovEry : f rom d omEstic a busE to Political t Error (2001).

70. See generally t HEv irtuous l ifE in g rEEk EtHics (Burkhard Reis ed., Cambridge 2006).71. For an excellent and accessible overview o Con ucian ethics, see Daniel K. Gardner,

t HE f our books : t HE basic t EacHings of tHE l atEr c onfucian t radition (Daniel K. Gardnertrans., 2007).

72. Harold bErman , f aitH and o rdEr : t HE r Econciliation of l aW and r Eligion 7 (1993).


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For this reason a discussion o the psychological, moral, and spiritual di-mensions o society must play an ever-increasing role in development andhuman rights models.

Out o a legitimate concern or preserving reedom o conscience, anumber o contemporary thinkers have argued against e orts to introducemoral or spiritual considerations into development or human rights initia-tives.73 Others object on the grounds that these are private matters and oughtnot to be imposed by agents acting on behal o the state. 74 Important asthese concerns are, this essay outlines an approach to moral developmentthat is grounded in those universal human values already endorsed, eitherexplicitly or implicitly, by the global community. Among these values isrespect or the dignity and worth o persons, irrespective o race, gender,

religion, or culture, as well as the undamental right o persons to live reerom any unnecessary pain and su ering and to realize their inherent potentialas human beings. 75 These universally recognized values provide the socialglue and institutional arrangements that render amilies, communities, andsocieties viable over long periods o time. Where appreciation o these val-ues is neglected or the instruments necessary or their dissemination do notexist, a crucible or the cultivation o various orms o useless, debilitatingsu ering is created.

Evolutionary theory, the science o psychology, and the worlds wisdom

traditions a rm that human development does not appear to be possible with-out exposure to su ering.76 In the most basic sense su ering arises wheneverthere is a consciousness o a disparity between an organisms current stateand a uture desired state. Awareness o the gap between where we are andwhere we wish to be is a signi cant motivator driving development. As westruggle with the problems presented to us by our existence, we bring orthnew knowledge, new insights, and new coping strategies and technologies.The aggregate is the advancement o civilization itsel . Thus su ering is notlamentable. Rather, it is that meaningless and unnecessary su ering that isborn o injustice and inhumanity that is the object o concern or those whoseek to promote human rights.

73. t HE l ab , tHE t EmPlE, and tHE markEt , supra note 17; see also Tracy E. Higgins, Anti-Essen-tialism, Relativism and Human Rights, in t HE c onflict and c ulturE r EadEr 109, 11011(Pat K. Chew ed., 2001).

74. t HEl ab , tHE t EmPlE, and tHE markEt , supra note 17; Anti-Essentialism, Relativism and HumanRights, supra note 73; see also Roger J. Levesque, c ulturE and f amily v iolEncE : fostEring c HangE t HrougH Human r igHts l aW (American Psychological Association 2001).

75. Universal Declaration o Human Rights, adopted 10 Dec. 1948, G.A. Res. 217A (III),U.N. GAOR, 3d Sess, U.N. Doc. A/RES/3/217A (1948).

76. See generally PEtEr marris , l oss and c HangE (1975); JoHn s. HatcHEr , t HEPurPosE of PHysical r Eality (Bahai Publishing 2005) (1987); iain Wilkinson , suffEring : a s ociological introduction (Polity 2004); r Emaking a World : v iolEncE , social suffEring and r EcovEry (Veena Das, ArthurKleinman, Margaret Lock, Mamphela Ramphele, & Pamela Reynolds eds., 2001).


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xIII. LookING FoRwARD

Human rights policies o the twenty- rst century must continue to protect

against the many orms o structural violence, cultural exploitation, and statesponsored terrorism that have marred the ace o the twentieth century. But,human rights initiatives are apt to be most e ective in arousing the commit-ment o the worlds peoples i they are animated by a vision that promotesthe prosperity o humankind in the ullest sense o the term. Such a pro oundadjustment in humanitys collective aspiration is not beyond reach. The pos-sibility o it has been captured well by the Bahai International Community inits address to the United Nations World Summit on Social Development:

The task o creating a global development strategy that will accelerate humanityscoming-o -age constitutes a challenge to reshape undamentally all the institutionso society. The protagonists to whom the challenge addresses itsel are all o theinhabitants o the planet: the generality o humankind, members o governinginstitutions at all levels, persons serving in agencies o international coordina-tion, scientists and social thinkers, all those endowed with artistic talents orwith access to the media o communication, and leaders o non-governmentalorganizations. The response called or must base itsel on an unconditionedrecognition o the oneness o humankind, a commitment to the establishment o

justice as the organizing principle o society . . . The enterprise requires a radical

rethinking o most o the concepts and assumptions currently governing socialand economic li e. It must be wedded, as well, to a conviction that, howeverlong the process and whatever setbacks may be encountered, the governance o human a airs can be conducted along lines that serve humanitys real needs.

Only i humanitys collective childhood has indeed come to an end andthe age o its adulthood is dawning does such a prospect represent more thananother utopian mirage. To imagine that an e ort o the magnitude envisionedhere can be summoned up by despondent and mutually antagonistic peoplesand nations runs counter to the whole o received wisdom. Only i . . . thecourse o social evolution has arrived at one o those decisive turning pointsthrough which all o the phenomena o existence are impelled suddenly orwardinto new stages o their development, can such a possibility be conceived . . .The turmoil now convulsing human a airs is unprecedented, and many o itsconsequences enormously destructive. Dangers unimagined in all history gatheraround a distracted humanity. The greatest error that the worlds leadership couldmake at this juncture, however, would be to allow the crisis to cast doubt onthe ultimate outcome o the process that is occurring. A world is passing awayand a new one is struggling to be born. The habits, attitudes, and institutionsthat have accumulated over the centuries are being subjected to tests that areas necessary to human development as they are inescapable. What is requiredo the peoples o the world is a measure o aith and resolve. . . 77

77. baHa i intErnational c ommunity , supra note 43, 7.

Documents

Penn & Malik the Protection and Development of the Human Spirit