Abstract

The article reconstructs a piece of Francesco Viola's thought concerning the so called «rights based morality». Viola's enquiry proceeds in three steps. First, the determination of three cultural facts: moral rights are the "éndoxa" of our time; contem¬porary societies are pluralist; the number of human rights is more and more increasing. Second, the position of a problem: human rights are accepted universally, but they have elusive and ambiguous formulations; if we make the rights more determined, they loss universality. Third, the presentation of an analysis concerning the current rights based morality, which is shaped by Viola as a complex social practice, intrinsically different from traditional ethical doctrines. The author presents some critical observations about Viola's analysis, particularly from a methodological point of view.