José Manuel Sabucedo
Universidad de Santiago de Compostela
Spain

Ideology, rationality and human rights

Ideología, racionalidad y derechos humanos

The social processes, which give raise to some kinds of human rights violations are frequently based on beliefs which have been widely accepted and justified within a community. From an ethical point of view those beliefs can be understood as clearly biased, and therefore we must think carefully about this with the help of the psychological research. The present paper aims to show how Social psychology has conceptual tools for this critical task: research into the social and psychological functions of those beliefs. We will take into account two core theoretical points: ideology and institutionalized lying. Additionally, we will look at the role some social institutions and media play in making and spreading beliefs that commit an outrage against human rights.