The justification of human rights belongs to the main and most discussed problems of modern philosophical anthropology of law.

The proposed article aims to reveal the problematic theoretical and methodological aspects of the justification of human rights in Ukrainian jurisprudence based on the materials of the most representative concepts of such justification over the past twenty years.

 On the basis of the analysis of the mentioned concepts, it is demonstrated that the classical universalist justifications of human rights are primarily presented in Ukrainian legal opinion. To one degree or another, they rely on the ontological strategies, which derive such justification from the conditions of human coexistence in society or from the essence (nature) of man.

 It is proved that the substantiation of human rights is not only an academic problem, but also a defense of politically significant theses, which indirectly relate to the specific conditions of the post-Soviet economic and social development of Ukraine. Disagreements between the concepts concern, in particular, such an important issue as the principles of human-society relations and the duties of the state to man. Implicitly, it is about the scope of the state’s obligations to eliminate existing social inequalities.

The range of positions supported by those participants in legal debates in Ukraine who recognize the existence of anthropological foundations of natural human rights are marked by: a) the interests (needs) of preserving human existence; and b) the desire to realize the god-like essence of man. The first position visualizes, first of all, a “modest” legal anthropology and the classic liberal-individualistic claim for a “minimum of the state”. However, the interests of preserving human existence include, in particular, its socio-economic interests, which takes this position beyond the boundaries of classical liberalism. The second position represents “maximalist” anthropological views of a religious orientation.

Bibliography

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Theses

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