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Kant on the Ground of Human Dignity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 March 2021

Apaar Kumar
Apaar Kumar*
Affiliation:
Humanities and Languages Division, School of Arts and Sciences, Ahmedabad University
*
apaarkumar@gmail.com
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Abstract

Kant interpreters have contrasting views on what Kant takes to be the basis for human dignity. Several commentators have argued that human dignity can be traced back to some feature of human beings. Others contend that humans in themselves lack dignity, but dignity can be attributed to them because the moral law demands respect for humanity. I argue, alternatively, that human dignity in Kant’s system can be seen to be grounded in the reciprocal relationship between the dignity of the moral law and the dignity inherent in the human constitution. The latter includes the dignity of personhood, construed as rational inner purposiveness, and the dignity of giving oneself the law and striving to follow it.

Keywords

human dignitypersonmoral lawpurposivenessvirtueautonomy

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Type
Article
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Kantian Review , Volume 26 , Issue 3 , September 2021 , pp. 435 - 453
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Kantian Review

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