Rights may be defined naturalistically or socially. In the first case we talk of Natural Rights or rights derived from Natural Law. In more contemporary language we would call this a basic Human Right - what one can reasonably expect in virtue of being human.

The second conception of rights focuses on what is allowed by a particular culture or society. This is a political right or what is granted by a particular political regime.

In Ethical Theory the term ‘right’ is a moral designator used to indicate any action which is consistent with a moral theory and which carries an obligation toward action.