INTRODUCTIONHuman rights have been defined as "fundamental moral guarantees that people of all countries and cultures are expected to have simply because they are people. Calling these guarantees “rights” suggests that they attach to particular individuals who can invoke them, that they are of high priority, and that compliance with them is obligatory rather than discretionary. Human rights are also international standards that help protect all people, everywhere, from serious political, legal and social abuses. Human rights philosophy addresses questions about the existence, content, nature, universality, justification, and legal status of human rights. Strong human rights claims often give rise to skeptical doubts and contradictory philosophical defenses. Reflection on these doubts and the answers that can be given to them has become a subfield of political and legal philosophy with an abundant literature. Why humans have rightsRights are owed to a man precisely because he is a person and, therefore, possesses value. and dignity. Man is not simply a piece of matter, a robot, a tool, a set of drives or a meaningless question mark as some philosophers would reduce it. He is a person, he has the power to think, judge and reason; he is master of himself and his actions; he has a supreme purpose that transcends this life. From the Christian perspective, he has infinite value because he is made in the image and likeness of God, being endowed with an immortal soul destined for eternal life with God. By virtue therefore of his human nature (or by virtue of natural law), by virtue of his supreme value and his dignity as a person, man...... middle of paper ......s in as formal properties of human rights, object of human rights and force of human rights. However, there is much less agreement on the fundamental question of how human rights can be philosophically justified. It would be fair to say that philosophers have provided many different, sometimes even contradictory, answers to this question. Philosophers have sought to justify human rights by appealing to unique ideals such as equality, autonomy, human dignity, basic human interests, the capacity for rational action, and even democracy. Bibliography: Codd, Clara M. The Ageless Wisdom of Life. Wheaton III USA: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1971. Dumbray, SM and Charles A. Introductory Philosophy. New York: Longmans, Green and Co, 1933. Gilson, E. Elements of Christian Philosophy. New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc... 1960.