Blackwell Reference Online

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E thics, political philosophy A prominent attribute of human beings, an object of respect that is independent of such factors as race, gender, talent, wealth, or social rank, and is purely rooted in human reason and autonomy. The notion of human dignity was emphasized in the Renaissance, and is fully elaborated in Kant 's ethics. Any agent who is morally authentic has personal dignity. Since human beings have dignity, they must be treated as ends in themselves, rather than merely as a means to other ends. Traditionally, human dignity has been considered to be the basis of moral worth, and human beings have been held to be the only objects of moral consideration. In contemporary ethics, the notion of human dignity is challenged. According to behaviorists and Freud , the noble account of humanity is false, because the majority of human actions are determined by desires and dispositions rather than being guided by reason. Proponents of animal ethics accuse this notion of being the product of speciesism . Utilitarians also believe that human dignity is not supreme and can be overridden to obtain the best consequences. In spite of these challenges, human dignity is widely upheld, in part because it provides intelligible grounds for human rights and self-respect. “That which constitutes the condition under which alone anything can be an end in itself, this has not merely a relative ... log in or subscribe to read full text