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Originally Posted by diuretic
If a tree falls in a forest it doesn't make a sound. It can't make a sound. It's a tree. A tree is a plant. Plants don't make sounds. But when it falls a falling tree will develop kinetic energy. Some of that kinetic energy will be released as sound waves on the tree's impact with the ground. Those sound waves will exist independent of anything else. If there are no humans around to hear those sound waves it doesn't matter. They will still exist. If a human is close enough then they will hear those sound waves. But simply because those sound waves might not be heard at that time by a human doesn't mean those sound waves don't exist. They do. That's because the natural laws of the universe are at work.
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The process of the tree falling produces a sound. The impact of the tree on the ground produces a sound.
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But "rights" are a human invention and not part of the natural laws of the universe. "Rights" are only recognised by humans interacting with one another. There are no "rights" independent of humanity. "Rights" aren't even innate in humans, they had to be invented, not discovered. And through time and in various cultures, "rights" have been variously interpreted. That's just another clue that they're not part of the natural laws of the universe. If they were then they would be constant across time and space. Gravity is a natural law of the universe whereas the "right" to freedom of speech is not.
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You have not proven that they are a human invention. John Locke (and others like him) have explained why rights are "natural." You can either agree or disagree but if you disagree then you must prove that Locke was wrong.
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A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.
"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes toward the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.
"I'm a panda," he says at the door. "Look it up."
The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.
"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."
Last edited by Chan : 07-16-2008 at 12:20 PM.
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