Waldron The Origin Of Dignity Analysis

Waldron begins his lecture by making a distinction that would guide his further comments. He differentiates between dignity from a moral point of view and dignity as the law considers it. The author continues his argument by providing examples of situations that call for either one of the two main considerations on the origin of dignity. The scholar follows his introductory remarks with points about the use of “dignity” and the contradiction that often arises from the positive and negative nature of human rights. The latter part of the lecture Waldron dedicates to his reflection on several different academic and theological approaches towards the conception on the nature of dignity. Throughout the chapter, the author keeps reminding his audience about the complexity of the …show more content…
Among the scholars from various fields – from political science, to psychology and philosophy, there seem to be as many views on the necessity of having a concept of dignity as many definitions on what is dignity. Assuming a complete polarity of these camps, without grey areas, both approaches provide compelling arguments. On the one hand, how can we, as a human society, talk about protecting each other if we do not know what do we protect or what do we protect it from? Building a frame on what is dignity is crucial to protecting it, in that a uniform widely accepted explanation of dignity is necessary for people (including state and non-state actors) to know where they should draw the limits on their actions, unless their true intention is to harm another person’s dignity. On the other hand, how can we come up with a widely approved definition with such a diverse world that composed by persons who abide by different, often opposing, cultural understandings or personal experiences? For many years, socialist movements have attempted,