Mind and Rights combines historical, philosophical, and legal perspectives with research from psychology and the cognitive sciences to probe the justification of human rights in ethics, politics and law. Chapters critically examine the growth of the human rights culture, its roots in history and current human rights theories. They engage with the so-called cognitive revolution and investigate the relationship between human cognition and human rights to determine how insights gained from modern theories of the mind can deepen our understanding of the foundations of human rights. Mind and Rights argues that the pursuit of the human rights idea, with its achievements and tragic failures, is key to understand what kind of beings humans are. Amidst ongoing debate on the universality and legitimacy of human rights, this book provides a uniquely comprehensive analysis of great practical and political importance for a culture of legal justice undergirded by rights. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.

‘Jurists, philosophers, historians, and (more recently) behavioral researchers have extensively studied the concept of human rights. In his thought-provoking book, Matthias Mahlmann masterfully draws all the threads together in order to gain a deeper understanding of the pertinent debates. This book offers a fresh, fascinating, and insightful analysis of this vital topic.’

Eyal Zamir - Hebrew University of Jerusalem

‘The term, magisterial, is often used promiscuously to characterize a book, but not in this case. It is deserved because it is a successful blend of immense interdisciplinary erudition applied to a vitally important topic. Fueled by passion for human rights, Minds and Rights is beautifully written and deep, requiring the reader’s attention and engagement. It is worth it.’

Stephen J. Morse - University of Pennsylvania School of Law

‘This book reaches the summit of the ambitions and promises of the title. Relying on state-of-the-art cognitive science and combining it with anthropology and moral philosophy it provides a compelling defense of human rights in a world of fashionable human rights skepticism.’

András Sajó - Central European University, former Vice-President of the European Court of Human Rights

‘Mahlmann offers us a passionately argued, deeply humane manifesto in support of human rights at a time when we need it most. It deserves a wide readership across the disciplines and should become one of the most influential books on the theory of human rights.’

Christopher McCrudden - Queen’s University, Belfast; University of Michigan Law School

‘Mind and Rights is a spectacular contribution to our understanding of ethics, cognitive science, and human rights. Mahlmann’s deep, systematic, and wide-ranging account takes issue with many influential trends in the study of mind, brain, and behavior, while also reviving and strengthening the case for universal human rights. A remarkably ambitious and provocative synthesis, which will shape and guide future reflection on these important topics.’

John Mikhail - Georgetown University Law Center

‘Mahlmann’s pioneering discussion of moral cognition covers an extraordinary amount of ground. It is the first of its kind to systematically link recent work on the psychological, neural, and evolutionary basis of human moral capacities and questions about the status of human rights.’

Guy Kahane Source: Jerusalem Review of Legal Studies

‘Mind and Rights presents an extraordinary synthesis of thought, drawing on disciplines such as history, philosophy, normative theory, political critique, and the new contributions of moral psychology, cognitive psychology, and neurosciences. It is a work that, from a broader and more complex perspective than that offered by legal theory, invites us to rethink and debate the concept and foundations of rights. … Written out of a clear commitment to the principle of common humanity that unites us as readers from around the world, this book deserves not only to be read, but studied and debated. It is both an invitation to dialogue and an invitation to listen carefully.’

Mónica Mazariegos Rodas Source: Heidelberg Journal of International Law

‘… an impressive and compelling intellectual edifice.’

Yuval Shany Source: Jerusalem Review of Legal Studies