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VeritasPrepKarishma , mikemcgarry , MagooshExpert

I am confused in between B and E. Could anyone please elaborate?
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How can E be right, when it says - human rights 'may' exist. The word 'may' implies a possibility...but not a guarantee...the sentence is weak.

But, to put one's point, a defender has to be assertive in his tone. Thus, I feel B is a better option. Had E been assertive by saying 'do' instead of 'may' it would have been the answer.

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prateek176
VeritasPrepKarishma , mikemcgarry , MagooshExpert

I am confused in between B and E. Could anyone please elaborate?


Argument:

Some philosophers - there exist certain human or natural rights that belong to all human beings by virtue of their humanity.

Another theory - But the rights accorded a person vary from society to society and even within a society over time.
Since there is no right that is universally protected, there are no natural rights.

The other theory negates the theory of some philosophers by saying that since there is no right that is universally protected, there are no natural rights. Just because the rights are not protected, it does not mean that the rights are not there. It is an assumption made by the other theory supporters that if there are natural rights, all societies would protect them.

Question: A defender of the theory that natural rights do exist might respond to this objection by arguing that ...

Choice (E) gives us the logic we discussed above. Hence it is correct.

(B) some human rights are natural while others derive from a source such as a constitution
This statement might be true but it is not relevant to our argument. We are only concerned about whether natural rights exist. Constitutional rights are not a matter of concern at all. We need to give a response to the objection raised by the other theory. (B) does not respond to it. We need something more in line with "the constitution may not safeguard natural rights even though they may exist"
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prateek176
VeritasPrepKarishma , mikemcgarry , MagooshExpert

I am confused in between B and E. Could anyone please elaborate?


Argument:

Some philosophers - there exist certain human or natural rights that belong to all human beings by virtue of their humanity.

Another theory - But the rights accorded a person vary from society to society and even within a society over time.
Since there is no right that is universally protected, there are no natural rights.

The other theory negates the theory of some philosophers by saying that since there is no right that is universally protected, there are no natural rights. Just because the rights are not protected, it does not mean that the rights are not there. It is an assumption made by the other theory supporters that if there are natural rights, all societies would protect them.

Question: A defender of the theory that natural rights do exist might respond to this objection by arguing that ...

Choice (E) gives us the logic we discussed above. Hence it is correct.

(B) some human rights are natural while others derive from a source such as a constitution
This statement might be true but it is not relevant to our argument. We are only concerned about whether natural rights exist. Constitutional rights are not a matter of concern at all. We need to give a response to the objection raised by the other theory. (B) does not respond to it. We need something more in line with "the constitution may not safeguard natural rights even though they may exist"
Yes now I get the true reason. Many thanks [GRINNING FACE WITH SMILING EYES] [GRINNING FACE WITH SMILING EYES]

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I'm confused- why can't it be D?

Sajjad1994
Some philosophers have argued that there exist certain human or natural rights that belong to all human beings by virtue of their humanity. But a review of the laws of different societies shows that the rights accorded a person vary from society to society and even within a society over time. Since there is no right that is universally protected, there are no natural rights. A defender of the theory that natural rights do exist might respond to this objection by arguing that

(A) some human beings do not have any natural rights
(B) some human rights are natural while others derive from a source such as a constitution
(C) people in one society may have natural rights that people in another society lack
(D) all societies have some institution that protects the rights of an individual in that society
(E) natural rights may exist even though they are not protected by some societies

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Some philosophers have argued that there exist certain human or natural rights that belong to all human beings by virtue of their humanity. But a review of the laws of different societies shows that the rights accorded a person vary from society to society and even within a society over time. Since there is no right that is universally protected, there are no natural rights.

A defender of the theory that natural rights do exist might respond to this objection by arguing that


The objection assumes that if natural rights existed, they would be protected by every society’s laws. The defender should challenge that link: a right can exist morally or naturally even if some societies fail to recognize or protect it legally.

(A) some human beings do not have any natural rights

This contradicts the theory being defended. Natural rights are said to belong to all human beings.

(B) some human rights are natural while others derive from a source such as a constitution

This may be true, but it does not answer the objection that no right is universally protected.

(C) people in one society may have natural rights that people in another society lack

This also conflicts with the idea of natural rights belonging to all humans by virtue of humanity.

(D) all societies have some institution that protects the rights of an individual in that society

This does not answer the objection. The issue is whether the same rights are universally protected, not whether each society protects some rights.

(E) natural rights may exist even though they are not protected by some societies

This is correct. It directly attacks the objection’s assumption. The absence of universal legal protection does not prove the absence of natural rights.

Answer: (E)
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Hi work2,

Good question, because (D)looks like it's on the defender's side (it talks about societies protecting rights), but it actually doesn't answer the objection at all.

First, pin down what the objection is really saying:

"Since there is no right that is universally protected, there are no natural rights."

The hidden assumption is: for a natural right to exist, it must be protected everywhere. So the defender's job is to break that link - to say a right can exist even where it isn't protected. That's exactly what (E) does.

Now look at (D):"all societies have some institution that protects the rights of an individual in that society."

- Notice the phrase "some" rights, and "in that society." (D) only says each society protects some of its own rights. That is not the same as any single right being protected universally across all societies.
- So even if (D) were true, the objection stands untouched - the objection was about universal protection, and (D) never establishes that.
- On top of that, (D) is an unsupported factual claim about institutions, not a statement about whether natural rights exist. The whole debate is about existence, and (D) never addresses existence.

In short, (D) changes the subject to "do societies protect rights?" when the defender needs to answer "can rights exist without being protected?"

Turn one knob to feel it: imagine the choice read instead - "natural rights exist even though no single society protects all of them." Now it speaks directly to existence-vs-protection, and it defends the theory. That rewrite is basically (E). (D) never makes that move, which is why it fails.

Answer: E

work2
I'm confused- why can't it be D?


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