Elements Of Human Dignity

4. Toward the minimum elements of human dignity as a legal concept

The analysis above is informed by the underlying assumption that human dignity is conceptually problematic, but that it is nonetheless a significant and meaningful part of our moral and legal vocabulary. First, we should understand that there are always risks involved in the construction of a definition human dignity. These risks should be taken as a normal task since human dignity, as any complex idea and abstract concept, is subject to abuse and misuse. A Kantian philosopher Allen Wood warns us with this difficulty. Wood argues that we often understand human dignity only imperfectly. As result, human dignity is often easily misinterpreted and misunderstood. One reason

Each element involves controversial questions about the interpretation of human dignity, but for the present purposes I shall have to be content with a brief summary. The first element refers to ontological aspect of human dignity. The ontological element sets out the nature of human dignity as a phenomenon and as a value. A historical concerning involves the source and nature of human dignity. This historical background reveals the idea of human dignity through the complex processes that can be unfolded into generalization, humanity, codification, and universalization. In the final stage of this history, the idea of human dignity has been revealed as the companied all these processes. The ‘being with dignity’ basically means there is something unique and important about human beings in the term that are priceless, irreplaceable and constitute every individual's equal inherent value. This intrinsic value is what gives humans a special status in the world and makes a claim of

If human dignity is an intrinsic value that every human being possesses simply because they are human, how do we know dignity? It is with this question of knowing that the element epistemology deals with human dignity. One way to answer this question is to combine between dignity and personhood in the absence of degradation. This combination sets out this formula; the only way that dignity is manifested itself in the reality is through the certain behaviors and actions by a person or toward a person, therefore we know dignity through the personhood. The personhood should be understood here minimally as an individuated human being, but it is also the individual, who has possessed legal status to entitle by rights and address by obligations. In the meantime, the certain behaviors and actions acknowledge the dignity of person in two conditions. First, we know and see dignity by allowing or observing a person to plan her life and future freely as someone with the capacity of action and communication. Accordingly, we should notice that dignity intersects with the principles of autonomy and agency, which assert the inviolability of the free will. The reason for this is that the concept of dignity and autonomy are closely related. The second condition that we know and observe dignity in the term that the body and the mind of person is an absence from all kinds of humiliation, insult and degradation.