Glossary of Terms

Rights: Claims that have some justification behind them. A moral right is a morally justified claim. A legal right is a legally justified claim. When we use the term "right" without specifying the nature of the justification, we usually mean a moral right. Rights specify the acts that are permitted, forbidden, or required. If they specify the acts that the rights-holder may perform (such as vote, or drive a car), they are often called licenses. If they specify acts that others may not perform (as the right to life obliges others not to kill the rights-holder), they are called liberties or negative rights. If they specify what the rights-holder should receive, they are called rights of entitlement or positive rights.

Other major types of classifications of rights are:

Alienable rights and Inalienable rights: Alienable rights may be taken or given away. Inalienable rights cannot.
Human rights: Human rights belong to all people, or all people who are competent to exercise them. (An earlier phrase that is a close synonym for human rights is "natural rights.") In contrast, a right that belongs only to some people is termed a "special" right.
Absolute rights and Prima Facie rights: Absolute rights cannot be outweighed by other considerations. Prima facie rights can be outwieghed by other considerations. For example, many who oppose capital punishment say that the right to life is an absolute right, but those who believe that capital punishment is morally justified in some circumstances say it is only a prima facie right.