在儒家自古以來所留傳的文獻中，蘊積了不少未顯題化的人權論題和思想。人權意識在外來思潮的刺激下而逐步地覺醒，固然近百年來的思想家多有這方面的論述，例如：殷海先、張偉泉、牟宗三、徐復觀……等，其中徐復觀儒家立場的人權論述，特別突出而有其可代表性。他認為儒家的仁政民本思想與當代民主人權的理念是可以相容的。另外，他進一步地指出人際互動不能全靠外在的法律權利關係來相制約，仍應以情理互感的美德為內在關係，這才有安放的人權基礎，依據這一論點而肯定儒家修己以安人的道德人權有可資西方以法律人權為依從的民主政治提供借鏡處。最後我們對他的人權觀放在當前的人權思潮下有何得失進行省察。

In all the surviving Confucian texts, many issues and thoughts on human rights haven't yet been manifested. The consciousness of human rights has bee gradually roused thanks to the stimulation of foreign thoughts. While the thinkers of the past century have made numerous statements on this topic, for instance, Yin Hai-guang, Zhang Wei-quan, Mo Zong-san, Xu Fu-guan, etc., Xu Fu-guan, among all the others, was unique and representative with his Confucian discourse on human rights, considering the Confucian ideas of benevolent and people-based rule is compatible with the idea of human rights in modern democracy. Besides, he further pointed out that the interactions between individuals should not be solely conditioned by external laws and rights but also be infused with the virtue of rapport and sympathy, on which human rights are based. Thereby, he assured that the western democracy, based on legal human rights, could learn from the Confucian concept of moral human rights-”the gentleman cultivates himself and thereby brings peace and security to his fellow men.” And finally we examine the merits of Xu's ideas on human rights from the perspective of current thoughts.