Search
Submit an article RU
Kantian Journal

2019 Vol. 38. №1

Back to the list Download the article
ENG
Сохранить XML для: JATS (вып.)
RUS
Сохранить XML для: JATS (вып.)
Sunday Adeniyi Fasoro

Kant on Human Dignity: Autonomy, Humanity, and Human Rights

Abstract

This paper explores the new frontier within Kantian scholarship which suggests that Kant places so much special importance on the value of rational nature that the supreme principle of morality and the concept of human dignity are both grounded on it. Advocates of this reading argue that the notion of autonomy and dignity should now be considered as the central claim of Kant’s ethics, rather than the universalisation of maxims. Kant’s ethics are termed as repugnant for they place a high demand on the universalisation of maxims as a universal moral principle. As a result, they argue that there is an urgent need to rescue Kant’s ethics from the controversies surrounding maxims and universalisability, and the best way to rescue his ethics is by “leaving deontology behind”. It must be left behind because the categorical imperative is not needed in order to rescue Kant’s ethics, as deontology is often overrated. Consequently, the highest duties of the human being are to ensure that his fellow human beings enjoy unhindered autonomy and receive the honour that their dignity duly deserves, as well as to look after their welfare and treat them with respect, regardless of their dispositions. I review recent literature to appraise this new frontier within Kantian scholarship. I also explore the works of philosophers, such as Herman, Korsgaard, Wood, Höffe, and, specifically, Hill, on Kant’s conception of human dignity in relation to its conception as autonomy, humanity, and the source of human rights.

Full text

json#{"TEXT":"","TYPE":"HTML"}

Reference

Ameriks, K., 2000. Kant and the Fate of Autonomy: Problems in the Appropriation of the Critical Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bayefsky, R., 2013. Dignity, Honour, and Human Rights: Kant’s Perspective. Political Theory, 41(6), pp. 809-837.
Beck, G., 2006. Immanuel Kant’s Theory of Rights. Ratio Juris, 19(4), pp. 371-401.
Brandt, R., 1982. Das Erlaubnisgesetz, oder: Vernunft und Geschichte in Kants Rechtslehre. In: R. Brandt, ed. Rechtsphilosophien der Aufklärung, ed. Brandt. Berlin: De Gruyter, pp. 233-275.
Byk, J. C., 2014. Is Human Dignity a Useless Concept? Legal Perspectives. In: M. Duwell, J. Braarvig, R. Brownsword and D. Mieth, eds. 2014. The Cambridge Handbook of Human Dignity: interdisciplinary perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 362-367.
Byrd, B. S., Hruschka, J., 2010. Kant’s Doctrine of Rights: A Commentary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Caranti, L., 2011. Kant’s Theory of Human Rights. In: T. Cushman, ed. 2011. Handbook of Human Rights. London: Routledge, pp. 35-44.
Dean, R., 1996. What Should We Treat as an End in Itself? Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, 77, pp. 268-288.
Dworkin, R., 1978. Taking Rights Seriously. Cambridge & MA: Harvard University Press.
Flikschuh, K., 1997. On Kant’s Rechtslehre. European Journal of Philosophy, 5(1), pp. 50-73.
Gewirth, A., 1984. The Epistemology of Human Rights. Social Philosophy and Policy, 1(2), pp. 1-24.
Gewirth, A., 1998. The Community of Rights. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Gregor, M., 1995. Natural Right or Natural Law? Jahrbuch für Recht und Ethik / Annual Review of Law and Ethics, 3, pp. 11-35.
Herman, B., 1993. The Practice of Moral Judgment. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Hill, T. E. J., 1980. Humanity as an End in Itself. Ethics, 91(1), pp. 84-99.
Hill, T. E. J., 1992. Dignity and Practical Reason in Kant’s Moral Theory. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Hill, T. E. J., 2002. Human Welfare and Moral Worth: Kantian Perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hill, T. E. J., 2014. Kantian Perspectives on the Ratio­nal Basis of Human Dignity. In: M. Duwell, J. Braarvig, R. Brownsword and D. Mieth, eds. 2014. The Cambridge Handbook of Human Dignity: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 215-221.
Höffe, O., 2010. Kant’s Innate Right as a Rational Criterion for Human Rights. In: L. Denis, ed. 2010. Kant’s Metaphysics of Morals: A Critical Guide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 71-92.
Kant, I., 1991. The Metaphysics of Morals. Translated by M. Gregor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kant, I., 1998. Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. Edited by M. Gregor and C. M. Korsgaard. Translated by M. Gregor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kant, I., 1999. The Metaphysical Elements of Justice: Part One of The Metaphysics of Morals. 2nd ed. Translated, with introduction, by J. Ladd. Cambridge & MA: Hackett Publishing Company.
Kant, I., 2011. Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime and Other Writings. Edited by P. Frierson and P. Guyer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kitcher, P., 2017. A Kantian Argument for the Formula of Humanity. Kant-Studien, 108(2), pp. 218-246.
Klemme, H. F., 2015. “die vernünftige Natur existirt als Zweck an sich selbst.” Überlegungen zu Oliver Sensens Interpretation der Menschheitsformel in der Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten. Kant-Studien, 106(1), pp. 88-96.
Korsgaard, C. M., 1996. Creating the Kingdom of Ends. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ludwig, B., 1982. Der Platz des rechlichen Postulats der praktischen Vernunft innerhalb der Paragraphen 1-6 der Kantischen Rechtslehre. In: R. Brandt, ed. Rechtsphilosophie der Aufklärung. Symposium Wolfenbüttel. Berlin: De Gruyter, pp. 218-232.
Macklin, R., 2003. Dignity is a Useless Concept. The BMJ, 327, pp. 1419-1420.
McCrudden, C., 2008. Human Dignity and Judicial Interpretation of Human Rights. The European Journal of International Law, 19(4), pp. 655-724.
Menke, C., 2014. Dignity as the Right to Have Rights: Human Dignity in Hannah Arendt. In: M. Duwell, J. Braarvig, R. Brownsword and D. Mieth, eds. 2014. The Cambridge Handbook of Human Dignity: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 327-342.
Meyer, M. J., 1989. Dignity, Rights and Self-Control. Ethics, 99(3), pp. 520-534.
Michael, L., 2014. Defining Dignity and Its Place in Human Rights. The New Bioethics, 20(1), pp. 12-34.
Mitchell, N., Howard, R. E. and Donnelly, J., 1987. Liberalism, Human Rights, and Human Dignity. American Political Science Review, 81(3), pp. 920-927.
Nussbaum, M., 1997. Capabilities and Human Rights. Fordham Law Review, 66(2), pp. 273-300.
Pippin, R. B., 2001. Rigorism and the “New Kant”. In: V. Gerhardt, R.-P. Horstmann and R. Schumacher, eds. 2001. Kant und die Berliner Aufklärung: Akten des IX. Internationalen Kant-Kongresses, Volume 1. Berlin: De Gruyter, pp. 313-326. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110874129.313
Pritchard, M. S., 1972. Human Dignity and Justice. Ethics, 82(4), pp. 299-313.
Sangiovanni, A., 2012. Can the Innate Right to Freedom Ground a System of Rights? European Journal of Philosophy, 20(3), pp. 460-469.
Sangiovanni, A., 2017. Humanity Without Dignity: Moral Equality, Respect, and Human Rights. Cambridge & MA: Harvard University Press.
Schmidt, E. E., Schönecker, D., 2017. Kant’s Moral Realism regarding Dignity and Value: Some Comments on the Tugendlehre. In: R. dos Santos, E. E. Schmidt, eds. 2017. Realism and Antirealism in Kant’s Moral Philosophy: New Essays. Berlin: De Gruyter, pp. 119-152.
Schneewind, J., 1996. Kant and Stoic Ethics. In: S. Engstrom, J. Whiting, eds. 1996. Aristotle, Kant, and the Stoics: Rethinking Happiness and Duty. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schönecker, D., 2015. Bemerkungen zu Oliver Sensen, Kant on Human Dignity, Chapter 1. Kant-Studien, 106(1), pp. 68-77.
Schönecker, D., Schmidt, E. E., 2018. Kant’s Ground-Thesis. On Dignity and Value in the Groundwork’. Journal of Value Inquiry, 52(1), pp. 81-95.
Sensen, O., 2011. Kant on Human Dignity. Berlin: De Gruyter.
Sensen, O., 2015. Kant on Human Dignity Reconsidered: A Reply to my Critics. Kant-Studien, 106(1), pp. 107-129.
Shaoping, G., Lin, Z., 2009. Human Dignity as a Right. Frontiers of Philosophy in China, 4(3), pp. 370-384.
Waldron, J., 1999. The Indignity of Legislation. In: J. Waldron, 1999. The Dignity of Legislation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 7-35.
Willaschek, M., 1998. Agency, Autonomy, and Moral Obligation. In: C. Fehige and U. Wessels, eds. Preferences. Berlin and New York: De Gruyter, pp. 176-203.
Wood, A. W., 1999a. Autonomy as the Ground of Morality, O’Neil Memorial Lectures. University of New Mexico. March, 1999, unpublished. [online] Available at: https://philpapers.org/go.pl?id=WOOAAT&proxyId=none&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stanford.edu%... [Accessed 10.12.2018].
Wood, A. W., 1999b. Kant’s Ethical Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.