Philosophizing the real world of human rights: A reply to Samuel Moyn

It is argued that Samuel Moyn's critique of Tasioulas's 'Towards a Philosophy of Human Rights' is undermined by an overly ambitious conception of the supposed goals of philosophical enquiry into human rights and by a serious misinterpretation of the nature of Tasioulas's 'orthodox' theory of human rights as affirming that such rights apply timelessly. With these misconceptions set aside, it becomes clear that a philosophical theory of human rights, such as the orthodox account, can help us illuminate and evaluate the complex realities of contemporary human rights practice, such as the creation of a non-statist and non-legalist human rights framework through the UN's Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.