Genesis und Geltung zusammen denken

Abstract

The following interview takes up and discusses central questions of Hans Joas’ theory of human rights. Joas explains how the genealogy of human rights relates to their validity and distinguishes his approach from others by stressing the emotive quality of values. He addresses the critique leveled at him of rooting human rights in religion and elaborates on what he terms the “sacredness of the person”. In doing so, he demonstrates that his version of universalism is rooted in the pragmatist understanding of human action which stresses the importance of experience, argument and narrative for the emergencies of values.