Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 15 (3):323 - 335 (2012)
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Abstract |
Why should all human beings have certain rights simply by virtue of being human? One justification is an appeal to religious authority. However, in increasingly secular societies this approach has its limits. An alternative answer is that human rights are justified through human dignity. This paper argues that human rights and human dignity are better separated for three reasons. First, the justification paradox: the concept of human dignity does not solve the justification problem for human rights but rather aggravates it in secular societies. Second, the Kantian cul-de-sac: if human rights were based on Kant's concept of dignity rather than theist grounds, such rights would lose their universal validity. Third, hazard by association: human dignity is nowadays more controversial than the concept of human rights, especially given unresolved tensions between aspirational dignity and inviolable dignity. In conclusion, proponents of universal human rights will fare better with alternative frameworks to justify human rights rather than relying on the concept of dignity
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Keywords | Dignity Human rights Kant |
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DOI | 10.1007/s10677-011-9326-3 |
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References found in this work BETA
Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals.Immanuel Kant - 1785 - In Elizabeth Schmidt Radcliffe, Richard McCarty, Fritz Allhoff & Anand Vaidya (eds.), Late Modern Philosophy: Essential Readings with Commentary. Blackwell.
Towards Justice and Virtue: A Constructive Account of Practical Reasoning.Onora O'Neill - 1996 - Cambridge University Press.
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Citations of this work BETA
Robots and Human Dignity: A Consideration of the Effects of Robot Care on the Dignity of Older People.Amanda Sharkey - 2014 - Ethics and Information Technology 16 (1):63-75.
Dignity and Animals. Does It Make Sense to Apply the Concept of Dignity to All Sentient Beings?Federico Zuolo - 2016 - Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 19 (5):1117-1130.
Dignity in the 21st Century - Middle East and West.Doris Schroeder & Abol-Hassan Bani-Sadr (eds.) - 2017 - Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer.
Dignity and Dissent in Humans and Non-Humans.Andreas Matthias - 2020 - Science and Engineering Ethics 26 (5):2497-2510.
Human Rights in Bioethics–Theoretical and Applied.John-Stewart Gordon - 2012 - Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 15 (3):283 - 294.
View all 11 citations / Add more citations
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