The Human Rights Tradition

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8/8/2019 The Human Rights Tradition

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and the Emergence of

Human Dignity as a Legal Principle

SECULARIZATION OF ELITISM

DIGNITY

UNIVERSALLY VALID PRINCIPLE

NORMATIVE

Human Rights

Derived from the inherent dignity

of the human person.

± the foundation of freedom, justice

and peace.

± A basic principle.

HUMAN RIGHTS TRADITION

explicitly adopts a universalist stand.

Dignity violated through

Torture

slavery

Mass expulsion

genocide

deprivation of rights

forced labor

terror

mass murder

experiments on

human beings

Practice and interpretation.

Legal Principle of Human Dignity itself is

not ambiguous.

inherent obligation to universalism

But in practice and in the way it is interpreted,

elitist components sometimes come to

dominate.

Who is to count as a human person?

Everyone agrees that human dignity

should be protected, but there is no

common consensus as to -

who are the persons to whom human

dignity is attributed

who is worthy of protection

F rench bioethicial laws rely on the

practical assumption that it is

unclear who possess human dignity.

Is a person defined by

consciousness alone?

Elitists and

Universalists.

Habermasian and Rawisian elitists

Consciousness or expressed

preferences are the conditionssine qua non for humanity.

The Principle of Dignity and the

Juridical Concept of Dignity

Elitist layer of human dignity

Universalist layer of human dignity

Possession of autonomy

Being human

The Principle of Dignity

the one affirmed by the Human rights tradition

A legal commitment to a moral ideal which is

explicitly universalist, endorsed for the purpose of

preserving peace

principle

A legal principle

In the perfect society the

juridical concept of human dignity

would flow from thebasic principle of human dignity.

P eople committing suicide

Existence- a means to achieve certain

desirable states of being

Extinction of existence- a means to

escape condition which are

undesirable

the non-pathological suicide is the most

fundamental violation of human dignity Assisted suicide, euthanasia

In the perfect society the

juridical concept of human dignity would flow from the

basic principle of human dignity.

Even if suicide is a violation of

the principle of human dignity ,

it may not be demonstrated to be a violation of

the legal concept of dignity.

Juridical Concept of dignity

A right possessed over and

against others, and notover against oneself

It is not in the interpretation of the

juridical concept which determines

the meaning of the principle

Autonomy is the core and summit of

the human person. Yet it has

foundation in the individual rational

nature of every personal being and

it is to this being that dignity applies.

Conclusion

Juridical concept of human dignity ±Dependent upon the existent

interpretations and current language use

± Anchored in an explicit universalistcommitment by Human rights tradition

± Easily slipping back into elitism

Conclusion

Dignity identified with autonomy

±No longer seen as being inherent in

the nature of the human being

Conclusion

Human dignity as a right over and

against others

±An intrinsic limitation of the legal

discourse

Conclusion

For the principle of human dignity

to be truly universal, It must

apply equally to all.

The Human Rights Tradition

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