Dignity: Not Such a Useless Concept
Journal of Medical Ethics 36 (3):160-164 (2010)
| Abstract |
In her 2003 article in the British Medical Journal, Ruth Macklin provocatively declared dignity to be a useless concept: either a vague restatement of other more precise values, such as autonomy or respect for persons, or an empty slogan. A recent response to Macklin has challenged this claim. Doris Schroeder attempts to rescue dignity by positing four distinct concepts that fall under the one umbrella term. She argues that much of the confusion surrounding dignity is due to the lack of disambiguation among these four concepts, but that once we understand the different values in question dignity becomes a powerful tool in the fields of human rights and bioethics. It is the goal of this paper to build upon Schroeder's insights by reconnecting the multiple strands of dignity she identifies. It will be argued that the usefulness of dignity as a guiding principle in medical ethics can be much improved by identifying the single conceptual link that ties together the various values flying under its banner. That conceptual link is provided by understanding dignity as the capacity to live by one's standards and principles. . |
|||||||||
| Keywords | Dignity | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,672 |
| External links |
  Try with proxy. |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesNora Jacobson & Diego Silva (2010). Dignity Promotion and Beneficence. Journal of Bioethical Inquiry 7 (4):365-372.
George J. Agich (2007). Reflections on the Function of Dignity in the Context of Caring for Old People. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 32 (5):483 – 494.
Diego S. Silva (2010). Dignity Promotion and Beneficence. Journal of Bioethical Inquiry 7 (4):365-372.
Peter Baumann (2007). Persons, Human Beings, and Respect. Polish Journal of Philosophy 1 (2):5-17.
David Albert Jones (2010). Is the Creation of Admixed Embryos “an Offense Against Human Dignity”? Human Reproduction and Genetic Ethics 16 (1):87-114.
Riekeder Graaf & Johannes Jmdelden (2009). Clarifying Appeals to Dignity in Medical Ethics From an Historical Perspective. Bioethics 23 (3):151-160.
Fabrice Jotterand (2010). Human Dignity and Transhumanism: Do Anthro-Technological Devices Have Moral Status? American Journal of Bioethics 10 (7):45-52.
Shaoping Gan (2009). Human Dignity as a Right. Frontiers of Philosophy in China 4 (3):370-384.
Doris Schroeder (forthcoming). Human Rights and Human Dignity. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice.
Alasdair Cochrane (2010). Undignified Bioethics. Bioethics 24 (5):234-241.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2010-06-12Total downloads47 ( #23,087 of 549,067 )Recent downloads (6 months)3 ( #25,703 of 549,067 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
