Amar Dhall

This article explores the traditional basis of modern human rights doctrines and exposes some of the systemic shortcomings. It then posits that a number of these problems are advanced via integrating some developments in the philosophy of science and substantive scientific research into legal philosophy. This article argues that supervening holism grounded in quantum mechanics provides an alternative basis to human rights by positing an ontological construct that is congruous with many of the wisdom traditions practiced around the world. Such a foundation exposes a rational imperative for universal human rights and hence appeals to legal pragmatists

This thesis considers the space of encounter between the quantum mechanical ontology of limited universal holism and the legal system. This space of encounter is identified through an examination of two premises. The first premise is that the ontological structure of limited universal holism has significant legal philosophical and socio-­‐legal implications. The second premise is that the loci of commitment within the ontology of limited universal holism epistemologically coheres with the core ontological notions that underpin the Preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,1 specifically the notions of equality, universality and inalienability. Both premises are affirmed in the course of analysis undertaken in this thesis. In addition some novel contributions are posited. Some of the ontological elements of limited universal holism when deployed as heuristic tools show, inter alia, coherence between the way socio-­‐legal constructivists conceptualise the law and the wave-­‐particle duality of quanta. In respect of the second premise, epistemological coherence is shown between the ethos that underpins modern human rights and the loci of commitment within the ontology of limited universal holism. This coherence improves the epistemic stability of monist perspectives on which deep equality may be framed. The thesis concludes with some suggestions for future research. Two particularly exciting areas for future research are uncovered in the course of the analysis. First is the coherence between the work in this thesis and the jurisprudential paradigm of Wild Law. Second is the potential for the monist ontology of limited universal holism derived from scientific research to cohere with many diverse wisdom and ethno-­‐cultural traditions and in so doing increase the epistemic standing of monist ontologies