人的权利首先以个体为依托。在权利这一层面，个体的追求往往彼此相异甚至分离，由此可能导致各种对立。与之不同，中国传统哲学提出了“仁道”的观念。权利意识仅仅关注个体权利和个体利益，而仁道则是以所有人具有的内在价值为关注点。人的权利本身有其物质基础，也有精神内涵。前者关乎生命存在的基本形态，涉及各种感性需要，后者则与人的存在的精神性层面相联系。只有在形成一定的物质基础之后，个体才会有精神层面的自觉追求。人的权利还具有实质与形式的方面，二者本质上相互关联。中国古代传统中的贤能政治与近代和现代传统中的群众路线，都关乎以上方面，需要高度重视。民主与民本的分辨，是需要关注的另一问题。认为民本就是以民为本，民主则是人民主权，二者泾渭分明，这种流行之论并不确切。事实上，中国传统的民本思想中蕴含着民主内容，二者从不同方面体现了人的权利的内涵。

权利, 仁道, 民主, 民本

Human rights are primarily based on the individual. At the level of rights, individuals’ pursuits often differ or even diverge from each other, potentially leading to various confrontations. In contrast, Chinese traditional philosophy puts forward the concept of “benevolence and righteousness”. While the consciousness of rights focuses solely on individual rights and interests, benevolence and righteousness concern the inherent value shared by all human beings. Human rights inherently possess both material and spiritual dimensions. The former pertains to the basic form of life existence and involves various perceptual needs, while the latter is linked to the spiritual dimension of human existence. Human rights also encompass substantive and formal aspects, which are intrinsically interconnected. Distinguishing democracy from the people-centered philosophy is another issue requiring attention in related fields. The popular view that the people-centered philosophy emphasizes the people as the foundation, while democracy represents people’s sovereignty, and that these two concepts are distinctly different, is inaccurate. In fact, Chinese traditional people-centered philosophy embodies democratic elements, and both reflect the connotation of human rights from different aspects.

rights, benevolence and righteousness, democracy, people-centered philosophy