ABSTRACT
“If we believe,” Aristotle is quoted as saying, “men have any personal rights at all as human beings, they have an absolute right to such a measure of good health as society, and society alone is able to give them.” 1 Such a statement implies that not only human rights—but also the human right to health—can be traced back to the fourth century BCE. It suggests an impressive continuity of the human right to health throughout history, and might be thought of as providing an ancient philosophical grounding for the work of health rights activists today.
