Kalman Bland: Medieval Jewish Perspectives on Human Rights

Kalman Bland (Professor Emeritus of Religion, Duke University), gives a lecture entitled "Medieval Jewish Perspectives on Human Rights" as part of "The Jewish Tradition & Human Rights" series.A comparison of the principles and practices enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ratified by the United Nations in 1948, with the laws and underlying political philosophy elaborated by medieval Jewish thinkers, like Maimonides, who were inspired by Greek philosophy as mediated by Islamic thinkers like al-Farabi, reveals what appear to be two vastly different visions of government for the ideal society. Monarchy and theocracy versus free elections, democracy, and universal suffrage are a case in point. Rather than explain away these vastly different visions of the ideal society or dismiss as outmoded the medieval Jewish system of values, this lecture will explore how the ideals of human rights, including the prohibition against torture, are the product of historical circumstance and divergent notions of how best to organize the way individuals and society relate."The Jewish Tradition & Human Rights" series is presented by the Duke Center for Jewish Studies, Jewish Life @ Duke, the The Kenan Institute for Ethics, and the Duke Human Rights Center at the Franklin Humanities Institute.