Contemporary Moral Problems by James E. White Chapter 1: Ronald Dworkin(Taking Rights Seriously)
April 10, 2009
In this part of the chapter the author shared the essay of Ronald Dworkin. Ronald Dowrkin is a
University professor at Jurisprudence, Oxford University, and professor of Law at New York University. I
think that having this background he would be able to share a lot of interesting theories and insights about
ethics. Since most of the time morality is used as a basis for something being ethical or not I think that a
person who knows a lot about morality would be able to share some important theories and insights about
ethics. Ronald Dworkin argued that it is wrong for people to interfere with the rights of other people. I
agree with Ronald Dworkin on this, I think that it is really immoral for a person to interfere with another
person’s rights. We can see its effects on nations that have taken the rights of its people. The result is
chaos, insurrection, rebellion, and unrest. Governments must respect the rights of the people in order for
them to have a stable and strong nation. Ronald Dwokin also condemned governments treating people
who have committed civil disobedience harshly. If governments treat their people with respect and
integrity it would be much easier to govern the nation. Silencing free speech is never the answer to
solving political unrest. I think that this is true because by silencing the people their anger will only build
up more and more and there will come a time when all this anger will be put on display and it would be
disastrous for the nation.
