What does having inalienable rights mean?

Question

I'm doing some definitions.
Thanks!

Answer 1

So fundamental not even God could take it away

Answer 2

The term inalienable rights (or unalienable rights) refers to a set of human rights that are fundamental, are not awarded by human power, and cannot be surrendered. They are by definition, rights retained by the people. Inalienable rights may be defined as natural rights or human rights, but natural rights are not required by definition to be inalienable.

Natural rights are universal rights that are seen as inherent in the nature of people and not contingent on human actions or beliefs.

One theory of natural rights was developed from the theory of natural law during the Enlightenment in opposition to the divine right of kings, and provided a moral justification for liberalism.

The concept of a natural right can be contrasted with the concept of a legal right: A natural right is one that is claimed to exist even when it is not enforced by the government or society as a whole, while a legal right is a right specifically created by the government or society, for the benefit of its members. The question of which rights are natural and which are legal is an important one in philosophy and politics. Critics of the concept of natural rights argue that all humans rights are legal rights, while proponents of the concept of natural rights in countries such as the United States assert that founding documents like the American Declaration of Independence and social contracts like the Constitution of the United States make natural rights valid by implication.

The idea of human rights descended from that of natural rights; some recognize no difference between the two and regard both as labels for the same thing while others choose to keep the terms separate to eliminate association with some features traditionally associated with natural rights.[1]

Answer 3

The Declaration of Independence states that men are "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights." Note the use of the word "Creator." It does not specify the Judeo-Christian God. It could just as well be Brahma, the Hindu God of Creation, Pangu, one of the creators in Chinese mythology, or any of a number of mythological deities credited with creation. Without the concept of the Creator, man would still have his "inalienable" rights. The phrasing of the Declaration of Independence is nothing more than an acceptable convention to make the document more palatable.

Answer 4

Inalienable rights, such as the right to life, liberty and property, belongs to a person and recognized by universal declaration of human rights. Each person is entitled to such rights and no one, state or person, can take it away without due process of law.

Answer 5

Bonjour madam

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_'unalienable_rights'_mean_in_the_Declaration_of_Independence

The concept of "certain unalienable rights" is evidence that the Founding Fathers of the United States believed in God and for the most part were strongly religious men with strong beliefs in entitlements bestowed by God upon men, and that these entitlements were so important that no earthly power can rightfully deny them. Therefore, no Government can deny these rights.

The whole of the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence sheds more light on this phrasing:



"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."


good luck

aurevoir madam

Answer 6

A dictionary definition would be "not alienable; not transferable to another or capable of being repudiated"

The Declaration of Independence was a statement of ideals. In that context, alienable rights are not awarded by human power and cannot be surrendered.

Answer 7

inalienable rights refers to a set of human rights that are fundamental, are not awarded by human power, and cannot be surrendered.

Nice picture, BTW ;-)

Answer 8

The rights given to you by God. These cannot be taken from you...

Answer 9

It simply means-- no one cant take it away from u and this means even u cant give it away even if u want.

Answer 10

Basicly, it means that these laws that are given to you can not be taken away from you.