TY - JOUR PY - 2011// TI - Individual responsibilities and moral inclusion in an age of rights JO - Culture and psychology A1 - Passini, Stefano SP - 281 EP - 296 VL - 17 IS - 3 N2 - In reference to Western cultures, some scholars (see Finkel & Moghaddam, 2005) have pointed out that we live in an ''age of rights.'' That is, people attach priority to their individual rights within a narrow-minded, individualistic worldview and de-emphasize duties. Such self-centred individualism focuses on the rights of individuals, forgetting to consider that rights can be effective only in relation to corresponding duties. In this article, a psychosocial theory on psychological boundaries for fairness, norms, and moral rules--namely moral inclusion/exclusion theory--will be used as a useful theoretical framework to resolve the apparent antinomy of rights versus duties. In particular, the use of this theory is relevant in understanding that the issues of claiming and protecting human rights and the balance between each individual's rights should be based on the concept of responsibility. In this sense, universality of human rights ought to deal with the universal recognition of other individuals and cultures and can be achieved only by means of intercultural dialogue.

LA - SN - 1354-067X UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1354067X11408130 ID - ref1 ER -