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Human Dignity Violated: A Negative Approach – Introduction

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Humiliation, Degradation, Dehumanization

Part of the book series: Library of Ethics and Applied Philosophy ((LOET,volume 24))

Abstract

The concept of human dignity is one of the few philosophical notions that has gained popular currency beyond specialist academic discourse. From the writings of Pico della Mirandola, Immanuel Kant and other philosophers it has found its way into our colloquial vocabulary. Appeals to human dignity are an important part of ethical, legal and political discourse nowadays and appear frequently in national constitutions and UN documents, in newspapers, NGO publications and in human rights discourse. But what is it that motivates all this talk about human dignity?

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Ethics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Paulus Kaufmann

  2. Department of Philosophy, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Hannes Kuch

  3. Department of Philosophy, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany

    Christian Neuhäuser

  4. Centre for the Study of Human Rights Law, University of Strathclyde, Strathclyde, UK

    Elaine Webster

Authors
  1. Paulus Kaufmann
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  2. Hannes Kuch
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  3. Christian Neuhäuser
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  4. Elaine Webster
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paulus Kaufmann .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ethik-Zentrum, Universität Zürich, Zollikerstr. 117, Zürich, 8008, Switzerland

    Paulus Kaufmann

  2. SFB Kulturen des Performativen, FU Berlin, Grunewaldstr. 35, Berlin, 12165, Germany

    Hannes Kuch

  3. Philosophische Fak., Inst. Philosophie, Universität Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais 10, Potsdam, 14469, Germany

    Christian Neuhaeuser

  4. Law School, University of Strathclyde, St James' Road, Glasgow, G4 0LT, United Kingdom

    Elaine Webster

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© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

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Kaufmann, P., Kuch, H., Neuhäuser, C., Webster, E. (2011). Human Dignity Violated: A Negative Approach – Introduction. In: Kaufmann, P., Kuch, H., Neuhaeuser, C., Webster, E. (eds) Humiliation, Degradation, Dehumanization. Library of Ethics and Applied Philosophy, vol 24. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9661-6_1

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