Universals in Philosophy and Law: Worldview Foundations of the Modern Model of Human Rights

Abstract

Abstract. The article is devoted to a philosophical and legal analysis of the problem of universals in the context of the formation and contemporary functioning of the concept of human rights. The relevance of the study is determined by the growing tension between the universalist claims of human rights and the reality of cultural, historical, and value pluralism, a tension that becomes particularly acute under the conditions of globalization, digitalization, and the rapid development of bio- and neurotechnologies. In this regard, the problem of universals emerges not merely as a classical metaphysical or epistemological debate, but as a key methodological issue within contemporary philosophy of law. The aim of the article is to reconstruct the historical and philosophical origins of the problem of universals and to substantiate the thesis that the modern model of human rights can be interpreted as a dynamic, normatively structured form of worldview universals. The methodological framework of the research combines historical-philosophical analysis, the hermeneutical approach, and comparative methodology, which makes it possible to trace the transformation of ideas of universality-from scholastic disputes over the ontological status of general concepts and the early modern doctrine of innate ideas to non-classical and post-non-classical critiques of universalism developed within historicism, hermeneutics, and postmodern philosophy. The study demonstrates that universals in contemporary humanities cannot be understood as ahistorical and immutable entities. Rather, they function as worldview categories that combine structural generality with historically variable content. It is argued that the concept of human rights reproduces this logic by integrating universalist aspirations with the recognition of cultural multiplicity. The evolution of generations of human rights is analyzed, and it is shown that the emergence of human rights in the digital age testifies to the open and dynamic character of universality, oriented toward the protection of human dignity under new socio-technical conditions. The scientific novelty of the article lies in conceptualizing human rights as a form of “pluralistic universality” that overcomes the opposition between rigid universalism and cultural relativism. The practical significance of the research consists in the possibility of applying its results in theoretical legal studies, law-making and law-enforcement practices, as well as in teaching philosophy of law and human rights.

Keywords: worldview universals; innate ideas; categories; universalism and cultural plurality; generations of human rights; human rights in the digital age; dignity.