The Inherence of Human Dignity

https://voegelinview.com/the-inherence-of-human-dignity/

Occupying a place front and center among important moral phenomena in need of robust explanation is the dignity of human persons. As such this perennially fascinating topic constitutes a powerful test case for rival explanatory candidates, an eminently telling clue to the import of the human condition and the very nature of reality. The essential dignity and unspeakably great worth of each and every human being is both a vital humanistic and humanizing doctrine, and an ineliminable moral datum that veritably cries out for adequate explanation to do it justice. The most penetrating explanations of human dignity refuse to domesticate or deflate it, but rather allow its full reverential and evidential force to be felt. This diverse collection adds a chorus of intelligent and insightful voices to this timely and timeless exploration, providing clarifying analysis, points of resonance and common ground across divergent views, as well as tensions and disagreements that ultimately, and instructively, may prove insuperable. — David Baggett, Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Center for Moral Apologetics at Houston Baptist University, USA

The political and legal battle over how we understand human dignity is right at the heart of the comprehensive crisis that is rocking the advanced modern world to its foundations, and there is no better scholarly exploration of that concept than the work published in these two invaluable volumes. — Greg Forster, Ph.D., Director, Oikonomia Network, Assistant Professor of Faith and Culture, Trinity International University, USA

The Inherence of Human Dignity, Vol. 1 and 2, deserves a wide readership. Barry Bussey and Angus Menuge have drawn together an important collection of essays from a diverse group of authors in order to explore different conceptions of human dignity and how it is to be grounded. — Robert A. Larmer, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy, University of New Brunswick, Canada

Bussey and Menuge have edited a magisterial, brilliant two volume work that should be essential reading for anyone interested in a commitment to human dignity. — Charles Taliaferro Overby Distinguished Chair and Professor of Philosophy, St. Olaf College, USA

“Human rights protect human dignity. But what is human dignity? Why is it important? An international group of scholars comments first on grounding human dignity and second on human dignity’s competing conceptions. By editing these essays, Barry Bussey and Angus Menuge have done the scholarly community a great service”.—Prof. dr. Paul Cliteur, Professor of Jurisprudence, Leiden University.

“Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (or Maastricht Treaty, 1992) states that ‘The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights.’ This Article makes human dignity a notion that is relevant for legal scholars, politicians, and others who want to understand the foundations of contemporary European culture. Barry Bussey and Angus Menuge have done an excellent job collecting some of the most thought-provoking contributions on this topic. This book deserves a wide readership.” — Prof. dr. Afshin Ellian, Professor of Jurisprudence, Leiden University.