Dignity found its way into English through French from Latin before the Renaissance The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historic era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not uniform across Europe, this is a general use of the.^[1] At that time, dignity was a quality akin to nobility, majesty, and wonderfulness, and philosophers granted dignity to assorted ideas and to various beings. In the 1700s, Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was an 18th-century German philosopher from the Prussian city of Königsberg. Kant was the last influential philosopher of modern Europe in the classic sequence of the theory of knowledge during the Enlightenment beginning with thinkers John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume said dignity was being granted to too many ideas and beings. He insisted that a human was the only being, and the human capacity for morality was the only idea, that had dignity.

In the twentieth century, dignity appeared in assorted writings (including international proclamations and conventions) as a reason for peacemaking and for promoting human rights. Academics discovered that many people believed dignity was a synonym for humanness. The academics discovered that, for many people, being human means having dignity, and having dignity means being entitled to respect and to human rights. The academics further discovered, however, that people had tacit qualifications attached to their idea of a human being. Because of these qualifications, many people do not grant humanness to every other person. According to the academics, many people hold the view that only some people have dignity, and only some people deserve respect and rights.

Aldergrove and others say that using dignity to justify calls for respect and for rights is illogical. Aldergrove says dignity (as humanness) is no different from other abstractions, for instance, preciousness or "just because". McDougal et al point out that dignity can be used to justify one set of rights, and to justify another set of rights that nullify the first set.

Aldergrove notes that some people use dignity to mean something other than humanness. Aldergrove observes that, when dignity has a meaning other than "humanness," dignity does not become a more logical reason for rights. The difficulty, says Aldergrove, is that no meaning of dignity can overcome the is-ought problem that David Hume David Hume was a Scottish philosopher and historian, regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy and the Scottish Enlightenment. Hume is often grouped with John Locke, George Berkeley, and a handful of others as a British Empiricist identified.

In the twentieth century and thereafter, few people objected to using dignity as a reason for rights. Consequently, dignity became a concern for legislators, jurists, lawyers, human rights defenders, physicians, medical researchers, and ethicists.

Philosophy

A philosopher of the Renaissance, Pico della Mirandola, granted dignity to ideas and to beings. In his "Oration on the Dignity of Man", he told hostile clerics about the dignity of the liberal arts and about the dignity and the glory of angels Angels are messengers of God in the Hebrew Bible , the New Testament and the Quran. The term "angel" has also been expanded to various notions of "spiritual beings" found in many other religious traditions. Other roles of angels include protecting and guiding human beings. His comments implied the dignity of philosophers.^[2]

A philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment is the era in Western philosophy and intellectual, scientific and cultural life, centered upon the eighteenth century, in which reason was advocated as the primary source and legitimacy for authority (1600s and 1700s), Immanuel Kant said one idea only and one being only had dignity. Kant said those things only which are beyond all value have dignity. Kant identified those things that are beyond all value as ends in themselves. Something is an end in itself if it has morality; that is, if it can make choices between right and wrong. Kant said "morality, and humanity as capable of it, is that which alone has dignity.”^[3]

Egonsson calls the belief that equates dignity with being human the Standard Attitude.^[4] Wertheimer calls the equating of dignity with humanness the Standard Belief.^[5] Egonsson observes that, while some people claim to have the Standard Attitude, they use language which indicates that they have attached qualifications other than humanness to their idea of dignity. Egonsson says some of these qualifications may exclude some people from being human and from having dignity. Wertheimer agrees with Egonsson's observation. Wertheimer says "it is not a definitional truth that human beings have human status."^[6]

Aldergrove says dignity, when it is used to mean being human, is a conceit. Having dignity, he contends, is no different from having preciousness or greatness or specialness or glory. Aldergrove says a conceit is "an excuse to feel the way you want, or to do what you want."^[7] Aldergrove says a conceit is a way of creating an authority out of nothing. He says a conceit is equal to just because as a reason for anything.^[8] He insists dignity as humanness "can be an excuse for any law or policy."^[9]

Aldergrove considers alternative meanings for dignity. He notes that some dictionaries define dignity as a quality or state worthy of esteem and respect.^[1] He notes that some dictionaries define dignity as stateliness.^[1][10][11] After considering meanings for dignity other than humanness, Aldergrove concludes that no meaning is better than humanness as a justification for respect and rights. All the claims to respect and to rights are precluded, says Aldergrove, because of the observation by Scottish philosopher David Hume. Hume noted that an is-statement does not give rise logically to just one ought-statement (the is-ought_problem In meta-ethics, the is-ought problem was articulated by David Hume , who noted that many writers make claims about what ought to be, on the basis of statements about what is. However, there seems to be a significant difference between descriptive statements (about what is) and prescriptive or normative statements (about what ought to be)).^[12] Thus, says Aldergrove, we cannot go logically from "we are human" (or "we are worthy of esteem" or "we have dignity") to some therefore about what we ought to do or believe with regard to respect or to rights or to any other matter.^[13]

Despite its problematic nature, dignity figures prominently among the world's concerns. As the following paragraphs illustrate, dignity is an issue in matters of religion, human rights, medicine, and law.

Religion

The Catechism of the Catholic Church The Catechism of the Catholic Church is an official exposition of the teachings of the Catholic Church. A provisional, "reference text" was issued by Pope John Paul II on October 11, 1992 — "the thirtieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council" — with his apostolic constitution, Fidei depositum insists the "dignity of the human person is rooted in his or her creation in the image and likeness The Image of God is a concept and theological doctrine that asserts that human beings are created in God's image and therefore have inherent value independent of their utility or function of God God is the English name given to the singular omnipotent being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism." "All human beings," says the Church, "in as much as they are created in the image of God, have the dignity of a person." The catechism says, "The right to the exercise of freedom belongs to everyone because it is inseparable from his or her dignity as a human person."^[14]

Proclamations and Conventions

Through much of the 20^th Century, dignity appeared in assorted writings as a reason for peacemaking and for promoting human rights. For example, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris. The Declaration has been translated into at least 375 languages and dialects, making it the most widely translated document in the world. The Declaration arose directly from the, adopted by the United Nations The United Nations Organization or simply United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace. The UN was founded in 1945 after World War II to replace the League of General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation. Its powers are to oversee the budget of the United Nations, appoint the non-permanent members to the Security Council, receive reports from other parts of the United Nations and make on December 10, 1948, states:

Subsequent proclamations also invoke dignity in the call for more rights. For example, the American Convention on Human Rights The American Convention on Human Rights is an international human rights instrument. It was adopted by the nations of the Americas meeting in San José, Costa Rica, in 1969. It came into force after the eleventh instrument of ratification (that of Grenada) was deposited on 18 July 1978 (1969), article 11(1), proclaims, "Everyone has the right to have his honor respected and his dignity recognized." The African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights is an international human rights instrument that is intended to promote and protect human rights and basic freedoms in the African continent (1981), art. 5, insists, "Every individual shall have the right to the respect of the dignity inherent in a human being." All the international proclamations leave dignity undefined.^[15]

At the beginning of the 21^st Century, dignity was a reason to curtail human rights. Clergy and laity invoked dignity to explain their agreement with resolutions that were being approved by the United Nations. Those resolutions bid all nations to restrict rights by imposing legal sanctions upon blasphemy Blasphemy is irreverence toward holy personages, religious artifacts, customs, and beliefs. The Abrahamic religions condemn blasphemy vehemently. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy. Those laws may discourage blasphemy as a matter of blasphemous libel, (defamation of religion) and upon all conduct that a religious person might find offensive.^[16] One archbishop favored legal sanctions because, he said, it is "the manipulation and defamation of religion which threatens human dignity, rights, peace and security."^[17] One law professor hoped "the law against defamation of religions may be constructed in a way that does not abridge legitimate speech including artistic freedom and yet protects the dignity of religion."^[18] On 26 March 2009, the United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations System. The UNHRC is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR, herein CHR), and is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly. The council works closely with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights adopted a non-binding resolution that states, "defamation of religions is a serious affront to human dignity leading to a restriction on the freedom of religion of their adherents and incitement to religious hatred and violence."^[19]

Medicine

In the 20th century, dignity became an issue for physicians and medical researchers.

International Bodies

In June 1964, the World Medical Association The World Medical Association , an international organization of physicians, was formally established on September 17, 1947, pursuant to the resolutions of the First General Assembly of WMA held in Paris, France. In 2007, the WMA had a membership of 84 national medical associations and represents some 9 million physicians issued the Declaration of Helsinki The Declaration of Helsinki was developed by the World Medical Association , as a set of ethical principles for the medical community regarding human experimentation, and is widely regarded as the cornerstone document of human research ethics. (WMA 2000, Bošnjak 2001, Tyebkhan 2003). The Declaration says at article 11, "It is the duty of physicians who participate in medical research to protect the life, health, dignity, integrity, right to self-determination, privacy, and confidentiality of personal information of research subjects."^[20]

The Council of Europe The Council of Europe is one of the oldest international organisations working towards European integration, having been founded in 1949. It has a particular emphasis on legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation. It has 47 member states with some 800 million citizens. It is distinct from the invoked dignity in its effort to govern the progress of biology and medicine. On 4 April 1997, the Council, at Oviedo, approved the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine. The convention's preamble contains these statements, among others:

The Convention states, "Parties to this Convention shall protect the dignity and identity of all human beings and guarantee everyone, without discrimination, respect for their integrity and other rights and fundamental freedoms with regard to the application of biology and medicine."

In 1998, the United Nations mentioned dignity in the UNESCO Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights. At Article 2, the declaration states, “Everyone has a right to respect for their dignity.” At Article 24, the declaration warns that treating a person to remove a genetic defect "could be contrary to human dignity." The Commentary that accompanies the declaration says that, as a consequence of the possibility of germ-line treatment, "it is the very dignity of the human race which is at stake."

Canada

In 1996, the Government of Canada issued a report entitled New Reproductive and Genetic Technologies. The report used “the principles of respect for human life and dignity” as its reason for recommending that various activities associated with genetic research and human reproduction be prohibited. The report said the prohibited activities were “contrary to Canadian values of equality and respect for human life and dignity.”

^[21]

Denmark

The Ministry of Health enacted the ‘‘Danish Council Act 1988’’, which established the Danish Council of Ethics. The Council advises the Ministry on matters of medicine and genetic research on humans. In 2001, the Council condemned "reproductive cloning because it would violate human dignity, because it could have adverse consequences for the cloned person and because permitting research on reproductive cloning would reflect a disregard for the respect due to the moral status of embryos."^[22]

France

In 1984, France set up the National Consultative Committee for Ethics in the Life and Health Sciences (CCNE) to advise the government about the regulation of medical practices and research. In 1986, the CCNE said, "Respect for human dignity must guide both the development of knowledge and the limits or rules to be observed by research." The CCNE said that research on human embryos must be subject to "the rule of reason" and must have regard for "undefined dignity in its practical consequences."^[23] The CCNE insisted that, in research on human embryos, the ethical principles that should apply are "respecting human dignity" and respecting "the dignity of science."^[23]

Portugal

The National Council of Ethics of Portugal published its Opinion on the Ethical Implications of Cloning in 1997. The opinion states, “the cloning of human beings, because of the problems it raises concerning the dignity of the human person, the equilibrium of the human species and life in society, is ethically unacceptable and must be prohibited.”^[24]

Sweden

Sweden's The Genetic Integrity Act (2006:351), The Biobanks in Medical Care Act (2002:297), Health and Medical Services (Professional Activities) Act (1998:531), and The Health and Medical Services Act (1982:763) all express concern for "the integrity of the individual" or "human dignity."^[25]

Switzerland

The Constitution says Swiss citizens must respect the dignity of animals, plants, and other organisms. Accordingly, the Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology (ECNH) published a brochure in 2008 about how researchers can respect the dignity of plants.^[26]

United States

In 2008, The President's Council on Bioethics The President's Council on Bioethics was a group of individuals appointed by United States President George W. Bush to advise his administration on bioethics. Established on November 28, 2001, by Executive Order 13237, the Council was directed to "advise the President on bioethical issues that may emerge as a consequence of advances in tried to arrive at a consensus about what dignity meant but failed. Edmund D. Pellegrino, M.D., the Council's Chairman, says in the Letter of Transmittal to the President of The United States, "… there is no universal agreement on the meaning of the term, human dignity."^[27]

Law

McDougal, Lasswell, and Chen studied dignity as a basis for international law.^[28] They said that using dignity as the basis for laws was a "natural law Natural law or the law of nature has been described as a law whose content is set by nature and that therefore has validity everywhere. As classically used, natural law refers to the use of reason to analyze human nature and deduce binding rules of moral behavior. The phrase natural law is opposed to the positive law (which is man-made) of a given approach."^[29] The natural law approach, they said, depends upon "exercises of faith."^[30] McDougal, Lasswell, and Chen observed:^[31]

The abiding difficulty with the natural law approach is that its assumptions, intellectual procedures, and modalities of justification can be employed equally by the proponents of human dignity and the proponents of human indignity in support of diametrically opposed empirical specifications of rights . . . .

Canada

In 2004, Canada enacted the Assisted Human Reproduction Act. Section 2(b) of the Act states, "the benefits of assisted human reproductive technologies and related research for individuals, for families and for society in general can be most effectively secured by taking appropriate measures for the protection and promotion of human health, safety, dignity and rights in the use of these technologies and in related research." The Act prescribes a fine not exceeding $500,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, or both, if someone undertakes a proscribed activity such as the creation of a chimera Typically seen in non-human zoology , a chimera is an animal that has two or more different populations of genetically distinct cells that originated in different zygotes; if the different cells emerged from the same zygote, it is called a mosaicism.

France

In 1997, the National Consultative Committee for Ethics in the Life and Health Sciences, as well as other observers, noted that France's dignity-based laws on bio-medical research were paradoxical. The law prohibited the willful destruction of human embryos but directed that human embryos could be destroyed if they were more than five years old.^[32] The law prohibited research on human embryos created in France but permitted research on human embryos brought to France.^[32] The law prohibited researchers from creating embryos for research but allowed researchers to experiment with embryos that were superfluous after in vitro fertilization.^[33]

Germany

Human dignity is the fundamental principle of the German constitution The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany is the constitutional law of Germany. It was formally approved on 8 May 1949, and, with the signature of the Allies, came into effect on 23 May 1949, as the constitution of West Germany. Article 1, paragraph 1 reads: "Human dignity shall be inviolable. To respect and protect it shall be the duty of all state authority."^[34] Human dignity is thus mentioned even before the right to life Right to life is a phrase that describes the belief that a human being has an essential right to live, particularly that a human being has the right not to be killed by another human being. The concept of a right to life is central to debates on the issues of capital punishment, euthanasia, self defense, abortion and war. This has a significant impact on German law-making and jurisdiction in both serious and trivial items:

• Human dignity is the basis of § 131 StGB, which prohibits the depiction of cruelty against humans in an approving way. § 131 has been used to confiscate horror movies Horror films are movies that strive to elicit the emotions of fear, horror and terror from viewers. Their plots frequently involve themes of death, the supernatural or mental illness. Many horror movies also include a central villain and to ban video games A video game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device. However, with the popular use of the term "video game", it now implies any type of display device. The electronic systems used to like Manhunt and the Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat is a best-selling series of fighting games, which were picked up by Acclaim Entertainment for the home console versions. Then Midway Games exclusively created home versions of Mortal Kombat. The franchise had been sold to Warner Bros. in July 2009 series.
• A decision by the German Federal Constitutional Court The Federal Constitutional Court is a special court established by the Grundgesetz, the German basic law. Since its inception, the constitutional court has been located in the city of Karlsruhe, intentionally dislocated from the other federal institutions like the seat of the government (earlier in Bonn, now in Berlin), the head office of the in 1977 said life imprisonment Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime where the convicted person is to remain in prison for the rest of his or her life. Examples of crimes for which a person could receive this sentence include: murder, high treason, severe or violent cases of drug or human trafficking, or aggravated cases of burglary or robbery without the possibility of parole Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole, meaning " word". Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their word of honor to abide by is unconstitutional as a violation of human dignity (and the Rechtsstaat Rechtsstaat is a concept in continental European legal thinking, originally borrowed from German jurisprudence, which can be translated as "state of law", "state of justice", or "state of rights". It is a "constitutional state" in which the exercise of governmental power is constrained by the law, and is principle). Today, a prisoner serving a life term can be granted parole on good behavior as early as 15 years after being incarcerated, provided that his release is held to constitute little danger to the public. Note that persons deemed still dangerous can be incarcerated indefinitely on a life term, if this judgment is regularly reaffirmed.
• § 14(3) of the Luftsicherheitsgesetz The Luftsicherheitsgesetz is a German law created in reaction to the September 11, 2001 attacks. It became law on 2005-01-15. § 14 (3), which would have allowed the Bundeswehr to shoot down airliners if they are used as weapons by terrorists, was declared unconstitutional by the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany on 2005-02-15. The main, which would have allowed the Bundeswehr The Bundeswehr (German for "Federal Defence Force"; listen ) comprises the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities. The States of Germany are not allowed to maintain armed forces of their own, since the Basic Law of Germany states that matters of defense fall into the sole responsibility to shoot down airliners if they are used as weapons by terrorists, was declared unconstitutional mainly on the grounds of human dignity: killing a small number of innocent people to save a large number cannot be legalized since it treats dignity as if it were a measurable and limited quantity.
• A Benetton Benetton Group S.p.A. is a global fashion brand, based in Treviso, Italy. The name comes from the Benetton family who founded the company in 1965. Benetton Group is listed in Milan . Benetton has a network of around 6,000 stores in 120 countries. The stores are managed by independent partners and generate a total turnover of over 2 billion euro advertisement showing human buttocks with an "H.I.V. Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus (a member of the retrovirus family) that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections. Infection with HIV occurs by the transfer of blood, semen, vaginal fluid, pre-ejaculate, or positive" stamp was declared a violation of human dignity by some courts, but in the end found legal.[1] [2]
• The first German law legalizing abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo, resulting in or caused by its death. An abortion can occur spontaneously due to complications during pregnancy or can be induced, in humans and other species. In the context of human pregnancies, an abortion induced to preserve the health in 1975 was declared unconstitutional because the court held that embryos An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination. In humans, it is called an embryo until about eight weeks after fertilization (i.e. ten weeks LMP), and from then it is instead called a fetus had human dignity.^[35] A new law on abortion was developed in the 1990s. This law makes all abortions de jure illegal, but the state does not prosecute early-term abortion if preceded by counseling.
• In a decision from 1981-12-15, the Bundesverwaltungsgericht declared that peep shows violated the human dignity of the performer, regardless of her feelings. The decision was later revised. Peep shows where the performer cannot see the persons who are watching her remain prohibited as a matter of dignity.

Switzerland

The Swiss Constitution states at Article 7, “Human dignity is to be respected and protected.”^[36] The Constitution mentions dignity again in relation to medicine and genetics:

See also

• Anger Anger is an emotion. The physical effects of anger include increased heart rate, blood pressure, and levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline. Some view anger as part of the fight or flight brain response to the perceived threat of harm. Anger becomes the predominant feeling behaviorally, cognitively, and physiologically when a person makes the
• Human rights Human rights are "rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Proponents of the concept usually assert that everyone is endowed with certain entitlements merely by reason of being human
• Pride Pride is, depending on the interactional and cultural context, either a high sense of one's personal status or the specific mostly positive emotion that is a product of praise or independent self-reflection. Philosophers and social psychologists have noted that pride is a complex secondary emotion which requires the development of a sense of self
• Righteous indignation Righteous indignation is typically a reactive emotion of anger over perceived mistreatment, insult, or malice. It is akin to what is called the sense of injustice. In some Christian doctrines, righteous indignation is considered the only form of anger which is not sinful, e.g., when Jesus drove the money lenders out of the temple
• Self-concept Self-concept is a multi-dimensional construct that refers to an individual's perception of "self" in relation to any number of characteristics, such as academics , gender roles and sexuality, racial identity, and many others. While closely related with self-concept clarity (which "refers to the extent to which self-knowledge is
• Self-esteem Self-esteem is a term used in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame. A person's self-esteem may be reflected in their behaviour, such as in assertiveness, shyness, confidence or caution. Self-esteem can apply
• Self-respect Self-esteem is a term used in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame. A person's self-esteem may be reflected in their behaviour, such as in assertiveness, shyness, confidence or caution. Self-esteem can apply

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dignity
2. ^ http://www.cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/Mirandola/
3. ^ Kant, Immanuel. "Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals". trans. by Thomas Kingsmill Abbott (Second Section: Transition From Popular Moral Philosophy To The Metaphysic Of Morals). Project Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/5682. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
4. ^ Egonsson, Dan (1998). Dimensions of Dignity: The Moral Importance of Being Human. Dordrecht, Sweden: Kluwer Academic. p. 132.
5. ^ Wertheimer, Roger; R. L. Perkins ed. (1974). "Philosophy on Humanity". Abortion: Pro and Con. Cambridge, Mass.: Schenkman. pp. 107-28.
6. ^ Egonsson, pp. 81-82.
7. ^ Aldergrove, John Romney (2000). Why We Are Not Obsolete Yet: Genetics, Algeny, and the Future. Burnaby: Stentorian. pp. 198. ISBN The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering (SBN) code created by Gordon Foster, now Emeritus Professor of Statistics at Trinity College, Dublin, for the booksellers and stationers W.H. Smith and others in 1966 0-9682932-1-2.
8. ^ Aldergrove, p. 85.
9. ^ Aldergrove, p. 85.
10. ^ He mentions Thurber who says dignity pertains only to the exceptional individual. Thurber says dignity "has gleamed only now and then and here and there, in lonely splendor, throughout the ages, a hope of the better men, never an achievement of the majority". Thurber, James (1989), 'Thinking Ourselves Into Trouble,' pt. 3, Collecting Himself: James Thurber on Writing and Writers, Humor and Himself, Michael J. Rosen ed., Harper & Row.
11. ^ Aldergrove (p. 71) says dignity should mean the set of attributes that distinguish an intelligent, solemn, sober, healthy, independent, adult homo sapiens (the model adult) from someone else, especially a young child or a lunatic.
12. ^ Hume, David (1739-1740), A Treatise of Human Nature: Being an Attempt to Introduce the Experimental Method of Reasoning into Moral Subjects, Book III (Of Morals), Part I (Of virtue and vice in general), Sect. I (Moral distinctions not deriv'd from reason).
13. ^ Aldergrove, p. 83.
14. ^ Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
15. ^ None of the international proclamations suggest dignity is the rare quality that some commentators say it should be. Aldergrove says dignity means the set of attributes that distinguish an intelligent, solemn, sober, healthy, independent, adult homo sapiens (the model adult) from someone else, especially a young child or a lunatic (Aldergrove, 71). Thurber says dignity "has gleamed only now and then and here and there, in lonely splendor, throughout the ages, a hope of the better men, never an achievement of the majority" (James Thurber, 'Thinking Ourselves Into Trouble,' pt. 3, Collecting Himself: James Thurber on Writing and Writers, Humor and Himself, Michael J. Rosen ed. (Harper & Row, 1989)).
16. ^ G.A. Res. 60/150; U.N. Doc. A/Res/60/150; G.A. Res. 61/164; U.N. Doc. A/Res/61/164; G.A. Res. 62/154; U.N. Doc. A/Res/62/154.
17. ^ Archbishop Defends Religious Freedom to U.N. Council 2006-07-14.
18. ^ Khan, Liaquat Ali. 'Combating Defamation of Religions' 1 January 2007.
19. ^ United Nations Human Rights Council on religious defamation," 26 March 2009 Retrieved 2009-03-30.
20. ^ Declaration of Helsinki by World Medical Association
21. ^ Bill in Parliament of Canada 1996
22. ^ Gratton, Brigitte. Survey on the National Regulations in the European Union regarding Research on Human Embryos (July 2002), 16.
23. ^ ^{a b} CCNE Opinion no. 8.
24. ^ Gratton, Brigitte. Survey on the National Regulations in the European Union regarding Research on Human Embryos (July 2002), 53.
25. ^ Swedish statutes.
26. ^ Dignity of Plants.
27. ^ Human Dignity and Bioethics: Essays Commissioned by the President's Council on Bioethics March 2008.
28. ^ Myres S. McDougal, Harold D. Lasswell, and Lung-chu Chen, Human Rights and World Public Order: The Basic Policies of an International Law of Human Dignity (New Haven: Yale UP, 1980).
29. ^ McDougal et al, note, at 70.
30. ^ McDougal et al, note, at 69.
31. ^ McDougal et al, note, at 71.
32. ^ ^{a b} CCNE Opinion no. 053.
33. ^ Cazeau, Bernard. (French) Senat.fr Retrieved 2009-04-11.
34. ^ Bundestag.de
35. ^ German law about abortion.
36. ^ Swiss Constitution.

External links

• Hickman, John. Bush Administration Health Care Policy in Three Rules. Baltimore Chronicle & Sentinel, 5 November 2007. Retrieved 2009-03-30.

• Aldergrove, John Romney. 'Aldergrove on Dignity'. (231 kb — 30 seconds by dial-up) Retrieved 2009-03-27.
• Andorno, Roberto. Human dignity and human rights as a common ground for a global bioethics. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, 2009, 34(3):223-40.
• Pinker, Stephen. 'The Stupidity of Dignity', The New Republic, 28 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
• Macklin, Ruth. 'Dignity is a useless concept', BMJ 2003;327(7429):1419 (20 December). Retrieved 2009-03-27.
• Pelé, Antonio. (Spanish) Una aproximación al concepto de dignidad humana Universitas. Revista de filosofía, derecho y política (Spain), Nº. 1, 2004 2005 , p. 9-13.
• Dignity Spiritualwiki

Categories: Positive mental attitude | Psychological attitude | Constitutional law | Ethics | Human rights | Autonomy

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