Matthias Mahlmann is University Professor, Chair of Philosophy and Theory of Law, Legal Sociology and International Public Law at the University of Zurich.

• Introduction: Navigating deep waters: the problems of human rights and new perspectives of enquiry; Part I. The Concept of Human Rights and the Global History of an Idea: 1. The concept of human rights; 2. The truth of human rights: a mortal daughter of time?; 3. Down the deeper wells of time; Part II. Justification: 4. Far from obvious: the quest for the justification of human rights; 5. A castle of sand?; Part III. Rights and Moral Cognition: 6. Which kind of mind, which kind of morals, which kind of rights?; 7. Where did it all come from?: Morality and the evolution of the mind; 8. The mentalist theory of ethics and law; Epilogue. The tilted scales of justice; Bibliography; Index.

'Jurists, philosophers, historians, and (more recently) behavioral researchers have extensively studied the concept of human rights. In his thought-provoking book, Matthias Mahlmann masterfully draws all the threads together in order to gain a deeper understanding of the pertinent debates. This book offers a fresh, fascinating, and insightful analysis of this vital topic.' Eyal Zamir, Hebrew University of Jerusalem