In the late 18th century, the idea of human rights emerged, as articulated in the American Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The emergence of new ethical standards in politics at that time was linked to the abolition of torture and cruel punishments.

The novels of Rousseau, Richardson, and Sterne played a role in expanding the social boundaries of empathy. In her book, Lynn Hunt explores these issues and reconstructs the history of human rights, illustrating their impact on our ability to defend these rights today. She describes the beginnings of the struggle for the idea of universal human rights and analyzes the reasons why it faced challenges in the 19th century due to nationalism.

In the concluding part of the book, Hunt discusses the rise of the idea of human rights after the global catastrophes of the 20th century and the proclamation of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. She also analyzes the current state of human rights in the modern world.