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Unalienable Rights cannot be separated from the human psyche. As integral parts of humanity, these rights cannot be relinquished, reduced, or taken by any means. References to "unalienable rights" are presented as statements of fact about the human condition.

The Declaration of Independence

The most famous use of the term "unalienable rights" can be found in the United States Declaration of Independence. In the Declaration, The United States Congress explains the reason that the colonies must separate from the British Crown: that rule of the Crown is in direct conflict with the unalienable rights of the colonists. The colonists assert that self-preservation and the desire to benefit self and society as one sees fit are so integrated with human nature that they cannot be relinquished. Therefore, by virtue of their basic humanity, they must alter or abolish any government threatening these rights.

Source of Unalienable Rights

"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,"

The Declaration of Independence gives examples of self-evident, unalienable rights as: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Our right to life cannot be stripped from the human psyche; it is self-evident that mankind will always have a sense of self-preservation, regardless of how severely we are oppressed. The same can be said for our need to benefit ourselves and our society in ways that we see fit.

Reference to a Creator without specifying what being or force of nature embodies that reference, is a common practice of Freemasonry. Most of the prominent signers of the Declaration of Independence were Free Masons. Free Masons of the time believed that each religious sect held secrets that could be used to benefit mankind. By welcoming members of all sects, without defining the creator, Free Masons hoped to combine the wisdom and knowledge of all humanity in one organization. To that end, texts of the time referred to the existence of the Creator as a matter of fact, since we were obviously created by some natural force or being. Reference to the creator in no way meant promotion of any particular doctrine.

Natural Rights History

The idea of rights that cannot be taken from human beings by virtue of their nature can be traced to ancient Greek and Medieval thinkers. Grotius, Hobbes, Pufendorf, and other influential thinkers codified these ideas in the modern era. John Locke used the concept of natural rights to justify much of his Second Treatise of Government in 1690. Natural rights were the original basis of the liberalism movement. Robert Nozick's popular 1974 book Anarchy, State, and Utopia begins, "Individuals have rights, and there are things no person or group may do to them."

Inalienable v. Unalienable

Controversy exists over whether inalienable means the same thing as unalienable. Unalienable is an archaic term always used in reference to that part of the human psyche which cannot be relinquished through any means. Proponents for a common definition assert that inalienable means the same thing. Whether or not they should mean the same thing is a matter of debate, but in current speech ( ), inalienable is widely used in the context of a plea for things not to be taken, or to be given back after they are taken, based on moral grounds.

See also

• Human rights
• Introduction to Philosophy
• Tom Paine

• Law
• Politics