Topics Ethics

Question It seems the general consensus that human dignity is the basis for human rights. However, it seems to me that human dignity makes more sense as the goal of human rights program; that is, in applying and respecting a set of human rights, we ought to be aiming to help everyone live dignified lives. So how is it that dignity shows up as the justification of human rights, rather than their goal?

Accepted:
November 3, 2010

Comments

Why should there be any incompatibility between dignity being both a goal and a justification? On the face of it, there seems to be harmony: if A is a worthwhile goal and B serves this goal, then B can be justified by appeal to A. Example: the goal of having a good job is served by having a good education and so obtaining a good education is justified by the contribution this education makes to winning a good job. Similarly in your case: the goal of protecting the dignity of human beings is served by instituting human rights and so instituting human rights can be justified by its contribution to protecting human dignity.