I’m aware that may be jarring in the quote, but he has argued his case for being able to use the word very well. In fact, he’s argued against it, calling it a rationalisation of our moral intuitions, and his point is that, for our moral intuitions to change, someone needs to do some good ethical reasoning first.
And yet he’s talking about ‘rights’, which are a deontological not a utilitarian concept.
Consequentialists can believe in something that can reasonably be called rights.
I’m aware that may be jarring in the quote, but he has argued his case for being able to use the word very well. In fact, he’s argued against it, calling it a rationalisation of our moral intuitions, and his point is that, for our moral intuitions to change, someone needs to do some good ethical reasoning first.