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Association: Name: The Midwest Political Science Association URL: http://www.indiana.edu/~mpsa/
Citation: URL: http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p82957_index.html Direct Link: HTML Code:

Sensen, Oliver. "How Human Dignity Grounds Human Rights: Two Paradigms" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the The Midwest Political Science Association, Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, Illinois, Apr 15, 2004 <Not Available>. 2009-05-26 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p82957_index.html>

Sensen, O. , 2004-04-15 "How Human Dignity Grounds Human Rights: Two Paradigms" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the The Midwest Political Science Association, Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, Illinois <Not Available>. 2009-05-26 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p82957_index.html

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript Review Method: Peer Reviewed Abstract: Over the last 100 years the notion of human dignity has gained more and more importance in the political discourse on human rights. Whereas, for instance, the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) names dignity as one justification for human rights among others, the two UN Covenants on Rights (1966) ground human rights solely on dignity. Yet in these documents human dignity is neither defined nor justified. It remains unclear how exactly dignity grounds rights. The UN documents state that dignity is an “inherent property”, because of which we can make claims upon others. In conceiving dignity, people often refer to Immanuel Kant, as he defines dignity as “absolute inner value,” and his request to “treat others always at the same time as an end, never merely as a means” seems to encapsulate what it means to respect the dignity of others. In my paper I argue that the UN notion of dignity is a recent invention and uses a different paradigm than was common throughout the ages. The UN notion construes dignity as an inherent value property. Because human beings contain this value, they are justified in claiming rights. The traditional concept, in contrast, uses a different paradigm. Cicero was the first who used the roman word ‘dignitas’ to express the Ancient Greek idea that reason uplifts all human beings over the rest of nature. This special status does not yield rights, but duties: because reason lifts us up over animals, we should use reason and not behave like animals. There are three difference between the traditional and the UN notion of dignity: a) the traditional notion does not conceive of dignity as an inherent value property, b) it does not ground rights but duties, c) it is not concerned about others, but about one’s own duty to perfect oneself. With slight variations, the traditional concept stayed the same throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Kant is still part of this tradition. For him it is the freedom of our reason that uplifts us over the rest of nature. Because of our freedom we have the duty – expressed through his Categorical Imperative – to be morally good and thus perfect ourselves. His request to treat others never merely as a means is a Categorical Imperative also. The reason why we should respect others is not an inherent value property of others, but our own duty. For Kant, the right (the Categorical Imperative) is prior to the good, and the duty of the agent prior to the right of the person affected. While the UN conception of dignity is teleological, Kant argument is deontological.

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