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Persons, Human Beings, and Respect
Peter Baumann
University of Aberdeen
Abstract. Human dignity seems very important to us. At the same time,
the concept ‘human dignity’ is extraordinarily elusive. A good way to
approach the questions “What is it?” and “Why is it important?” is to
raise another question first: In virtue of what do human beings have
human dignity? Speciesism – the idea that human beings have a particular
dignity because they are humans – does not seem very convincing. A
better answer says that human beings have dignity because and insofar as
they are persons. I discuss several versions of this idea as well as
several objections against it. The most promising line of analysis says
that human beings cannot survive psychologically without a very basic
form a recognition and respect by others. The idea that humans have a
special dignity is the idea that they owe each other this kind of
respect. All this also suggests that human dignity is inherently social.
Non-social beings do not have dignity – nor do they lack it. It is
because we are social animals of a certain kind that we have dignity –
not so much because we are rational animals.
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