The concept of natural rights from the perspective of John Locke and Thomas Jefferson (a comparative study)

Ahmed, Muhammad Mustafa

doi:10.37651/aujlps.2024.145371.1141

	The concept of natural rights from the perspective of John Locke and Thomas Jefferson (a comparative study)
Journal of Anbar University for Law and Political Sciences
Article 13, Volume 14, Issue: 1 part 1, March 2024, Pages 360-392 PDF (836.05 K)
Document Type: Research Paper
DOI: 10.37651/aujlps.2024.145371.1141
Author
Muhammad Mustafa Ahmed^*
College of Political Science - Sulaymaniyah University
Abstract
The theory of natural rights occupies a prominent place among political theories, due to its importance in analyzing how political society emerges. The concept of natural rights is also closely linked to natural law, such that man, living in a state of nature under natural law, possesses natural rights, which is the philosophical basis for human rights. Although philosophers and thinkers did not agree on a unified concept of natural rights and their nature, they agree on the existence of a natural state that precedes political society, whereby humans live by their natural rights. John Locke, a representative of English empiricism and one of the pioneers of liberalism, is considered one of the most prominent people who delved deeply into the theory of natural rights, and the most prominent of these rights for him were (life), (liberty), and (property). As for Thomas Jefferson, who was inspired by many ideas from Locke, perhaps natural rights are among the most prominent, he did not He delves into the theory of natural rights from a theoretical standpoint only, but worked to embody them in the Declaration of Independence and applicable laws, and considered all of (life), (liberty), and (the pursuit of happiness) among the basic natural rights of man.
Keywords
natural rights; human rights; state of nature; liberalism

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