Can freedom of speech, as an absolute right, be defended on Research Paper

Can freedom of speech, as an absolute right, be defended on utilitarian terms If not, can Ronald Dworkin defend it as a 'fundam - Research Paper Example ..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.10 Abstract This paper concentrates on the notion of freedom of speech and how its functioning has been elucidated in a synchronized manner. The paper also entails the analysis of how freedom of speech as an absolute right can be defended on the utilitarian ground. The last part deals with the critical evaluation of how the famous liberal scholar, Ronald Dworkin, defended the freedom of speech as a fundamental human right and how far he is able to achieve his goal. The general intellection of almost all philosophers today is that human beings with the virtue of their nature possess moral rights in terms of both special rights (for example, the right of a creditor to collect his money from debtor) and general rights. According to the majority of the philosophers, the general notion of belief is that there is compatibility between utilitarianism and moral rights. For instance, the famous British philosopher John Stuart Mill, wh ose contribution is immense in the field of philosophy, perceives a congruency between utilitarianism and moral rights. ... 1. Utilitarianism In order to understand the interaction between utilitarianism and moral rights, it is necessary to define utilitarianism at first. According to John Stuart Mill, â€Å"the utilitarian approach is that happiness is desirable, and the only thing, desirable as an end; all other things being desirable as means to that end.† In support of this he has also mentioned: â€Å"If so, happiness is the sole end of human action, and the promotion of it is the test by which to judge of all human conduct, from whence it necessarily follows that it must be the criterion of morality, since a part is included in the whole† (Brandt 1992, pp.197-198). The concept of utilitarianism was ushered in the 19th century by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill to help the legislative units frame different laws which are morally optimal. In the utilitarian approach, firstly various courses of action are identified. After that the entities to be possibly affected by each action and w hat benefits or harms will be caused by each action need to be evaluated. Lastly, a certain action is chosen to produce the greatest benefits and least harm (Velasquez et al., 2010). 2. Freedom of speech as an absolute right and utilitarianism Freedom of speech is invariably represented as a fundamental right by written Constitution and bills against state suppression and regulation. Freedom of speech is an important concept. The prime function of the freedom of speech is a representative range of views. These views are mainly responsible for the decision making processes at all levels in a societal structure. These are the prime functions of freedom of speech. Implementation of a decision is deemed to be successful when it is done after ample