Dignity: Its History and Meaning - Rilegato

Rosen, Michael

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 0674064437 ISBN 13: 9780674064430

Casa editrice: Harvard Univ Pr, 2012

Riassunto

Dignity plays a central role in current thinking about law and human rights, but there is sharp disagreement about its meaning. Combining conceptual precision with a broad historical background, Michael Rosen puts these controversies in context and offers a novel, constructive proposal.

Drawing on law, politics, religion, and culture, as well as philosophy, Rosen shows how modern conceptions of dignity inherit several distinct strands of meaning. This is why users of the word nowadays often talk past one another. The idea of dignity as the foundation for the universal entitlement to human rights represented the coming together after the Second World War of two extremely powerful traditions: Christian theology and Kantian philosophy. Not only is this idea of dignity as an “inner transcendental kernel” behind human rights problematic, Rosen argues, it has drawn attention away from a different, very important, sense of dignity: the right to be treatedwith dignity, that is, with proper respect.

At the heart of the argument stands the giant figure of Immanuel Kant. Challenging current orthodoxy, Rosen’s interpretation presents Kant as a philosopher whose ethical thought is governed, above all, by the requirement of showing respect toward a kernel of value that each of us carries, indestructibly, within ourselves. Finally, Rosen asks (and answers) a surprisingly puzzling question: why do we still have a duty to treat the dead with dignity if they will not benefit from our respect?

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Recensione:

"In Dignity: Its History and Meaning, Michael Rosen employs philosophy and political theory to unpack this contested term. He opens with a lively history of the concept, sketching its development from Cicero to Kant and beyond...This short, rich work ends with Rosen musing on dignity, duty, and respect: where we deny human dignity to others, we risk losing our own humanity." --John Gallagher, The Guardian, 25 March 2012

"[An] elegant, interesting and lucid exploration of the concept of dignity...Drawing on classical, liberal and Catholic traditions, Rosen hopes to rehabilitate dignity to its rightful place near the centre of moral thought...Rosen's admirable book deserves wide attention from political theorists, jurisprudes and political philosophers." --Simon Blackburn, THE, 29 March 2012

"[A] vivid and accessible investigation of dignity. Rosen remedies [the neglect shown to the concept of dignity by scholars] with a close look at the concept's history, tracing its roots with humour and erudition form Cicero to Nietzsche and onwards. [...] Rosen's approach reveals untold riches in the meanings of dignity. [..] the narrative is so engrossing that the limitations hardly matter. Dignity deserves to be widely read, not only for its intrinsic interest, but also as a corrective to the habit of discussing such topics in abstraction form their social context." --Rae Langton, TLS, Friday 31 August 2012

L'autore:

Michael Rosen is Professor of Government at Harvard University.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Harvard Univ Pr
• Data di pubblicazione: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0674064437
• ISBN 13: 9780674064430
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 176