Lenn E. Goodman
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195328820
- eISBN:
- 9780199870172
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195328820.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter aims to put some flesh on the bones of the biblical commandment Love thy neighbor as thyself. Goodman situates the Mosaic ethics of love and its commands in behalf of existential desert ...
More
This chapter aims to put some flesh on the bones of the biblical commandment Love thy neighbor as thyself. Goodman situates the Mosaic ethics of love and its commands in behalf of existential desert and the dignity of personhood. Biblical and rabbinic thinking here and in particular in the work of the philosopher Bahya ibn Paquda stands out vividly alongside the ideas of Hobbes, Hume, Adam Smith, and John Rawls. It is not utility or the sheer positivity of the Law that motivates love of one's neighbor, or anything so abstract as Kantian duty, but the very claim the neighbor makes on us. In this light, the commandment becomes more robust and concrete, its expectations clarified and enlarged.Less
This chapter aims to put some flesh on the bones of the biblical commandment Love thy neighbor as thyself. Goodman situates the Mosaic ethics of love and its commands in behalf of existential desert and the dignity of personhood. Biblical and rabbinic thinking here and in particular in the work of the philosopher Bahya ibn Paquda stands out vividly alongside the ideas of Hobbes, Hume, Adam Smith, and John Rawls. It is not utility or the sheer positivity of the Law that motivates love of one's neighbor, or anything so abstract as Kantian duty, but the very claim the neighbor makes on us. In this light, the commandment becomes more robust and concrete, its expectations clarified and enlarged.
David Erdos
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199557769
- eISBN:
- 9780191594380
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199557769.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This conclusionary chapter explores the implications of the Postmaterialist Trigger Thesis (PTT) of bill of rights institutionalization beyond the four Westminster democracies from whose experience ...
More
This conclusionary chapter explores the implications of the Postmaterialist Trigger Thesis (PTT) of bill of rights institutionalization beyond the four Westminster democracies from whose experience it was developed. The first half of the chapter examines the wider direct applicability of the PTT, arguing that it should fit other instances of deliberate bill of rights institutionalization in internally stable, advanced democracies. The genesis of the Israeli Basic Laws on human rights (1992) is explored as an exemplar case. The second part considers the broader relevance of the PTT. It argues that the PTT's focus on the importance of political triggers in stable, advanced democratic settings importantly mirrors the emphasis on political transition within less‐stable settings. Finally, the book explores the postmaterialist conceptions of rights and bills of rights arguing that, in contrast to classic liberalism, these conceptions are not based on a presumption of State non‐interference. In fact, such conceptions have encouraged a reorientation of human rights so as to accommodate and, on occasion, even require State action. At the extreme, and despite their very different long‐term historical origins, postmaterialist bills of rights may become co‐opted into the State‐directed audit and risk management explosion which has become a hallmark of advanced industrialized democracy.Less
This conclusionary chapter explores the implications of the Postmaterialist Trigger Thesis (PTT) of bill of rights institutionalization beyond the four Westminster democracies from whose experience it was developed. The first half of the chapter examines the wider direct applicability of the PTT, arguing that it should fit other instances of deliberate bill of rights institutionalization in internally stable, advanced democracies. The genesis of the Israeli Basic Laws on human rights (1992) is explored as an exemplar case. The second part considers the broader relevance of the PTT. It argues that the PTT's focus on the importance of political triggers in stable, advanced democratic settings importantly mirrors the emphasis on political transition within less‐stable settings. Finally, the book explores the postmaterialist conceptions of rights and bills of rights arguing that, in contrast to classic liberalism, these conceptions are not based on a presumption of State non‐interference. In fact, such conceptions have encouraged a reorientation of human rights so as to accommodate and, on occasion, even require State action. At the extreme, and despite their very different long‐term historical origins, postmaterialist bills of rights may become co‐opted into the State‐directed audit and risk management explosion which has become a hallmark of advanced industrialized democracy.
Monika Renz, Mark Kyburz, and John Peck
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780231170888
- eISBN:
- 9780231540230
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231170888.003.0003
- Subject:
- Sociology, Gerontology and Ageing
Dying as a transition consists of three distinctive stages: pre-transition, transition itself, post-transition. These stages and the particular experiences of dignity in each are explained and ...
More
Dying as a transition consists of three distinctive stages: pre-transition, transition itself, post-transition. These stages and the particular experiences of dignity in each are explained and illustrated by case vignettes.Less
Dying as a transition consists of three distinctive stages: pre-transition, transition itself, post-transition. These stages and the particular experiences of dignity in each are explained and illustrated by case vignettes.
Guenter Lewy
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199746415
- eISBN:
- 9780199866151
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199746415.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
Oregon's Death with Dignity Act was a citizen's initiative passed by the voters in November 1994. After surviving a series of legal challenges, the law allowing physician-assisted suicide became ...
More
Oregon's Death with Dignity Act was a citizen's initiative passed by the voters in November 1994. After surviving a series of legal challenges, the law allowing physician-assisted suicide became effective on October 27, 1997. Adult residents of Oregon who are terminally ill can make a request to a physician for a lethal medication for the purpose of ending their lives “in a humane and dignified manner.” The physician must determine that the patient has an incurable illness and is competent. The Oregon Department of Human Services collects information regarding compliance with the provisions of the law. This chapter presents demographic data on the 341 patients who have died under the law between 1998 and 2007. Contrary to fears expressed by opponents of the legislation, those who chose assisted death were not the poor or uneducated but the better educated and those with higher incomes. Inadequate pain control was cited only by about one third of those who made use of the law. Instead of concern about good end-of-life care, the fear of losing control and dignity was one of the primary reasons for choosing assisted death. As a result of rapid expansion of palliative care, by 2007 a full 88% of those who chose assisted death were being cared for by a hospice. Despite some remaining problems such as the difficulty of recognizing psychiatric disorders, experience with the law has on the whole been positive and safeguards against abuse appear to be working.Less
Oregon's Death with Dignity Act was a citizen's initiative passed by the voters in November 1994. After surviving a series of legal challenges, the law allowing physician-assisted suicide became effective on October 27, 1997. Adult residents of Oregon who are terminally ill can make a request to a physician for a lethal medication for the purpose of ending their lives “in a humane and dignified manner.” The physician must determine that the patient has an incurable illness and is competent. The Oregon Department of Human Services collects information regarding compliance with the provisions of the law. This chapter presents demographic data on the 341 patients who have died under the law between 1998 and 2007. Contrary to fears expressed by opponents of the legislation, those who chose assisted death were not the poor or uneducated but the better educated and those with higher incomes. Inadequate pain control was cited only by about one third of those who made use of the law. Instead of concern about good end-of-life care, the fear of losing control and dignity was one of the primary reasons for choosing assisted death. As a result of rapid expansion of palliative care, by 2007 a full 88% of those who chose assisted death were being cared for by a hospice. Despite some remaining problems such as the difficulty of recognizing psychiatric disorders, experience with the law has on the whole been positive and safeguards against abuse appear to be working.
Jay Schulkin
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780231176767
- eISBN:
- 9780231541978
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231176767.003.0010
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
What is clear is the richness of biology, culture, and deep relationships; sport reveals what makes us human in our biological evolution and in its modification and expansion into cultural evolution. ...
More
What is clear is the richness of biology, culture, and deep relationships; sport reveals what makes us human in our biological evolution and in its modification and expansion into cultural evolution. An evolutionary perspective is one route to understanding sport; blended with our biology, culture fuels our capabilities. The evolution of the brain and other organ systems were vital steps in how we became able to do sport and how other hominoids did not. And research has now entered the arena of genetics and epigenetics in understanding sports capability.Less
What is clear is the richness of biology, culture, and deep relationships; sport reveals what makes us human in our biological evolution and in its modification and expansion into cultural evolution. An evolutionary perspective is one route to understanding sport; blended with our biology, culture fuels our capabilities. The evolution of the brain and other organ systems were vital steps in how we became able to do sport and how other hominoids did not. And research has now entered the arena of genetics and epigenetics in understanding sports capability.
Deryck Beyleveld
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780719096235
- eISBN:
- 9781781708392
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719096235.003.0009
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Ethical Issues and Debates
Discussions of human dignity have burgeoned in bioethics. John Harris, amongst others, has been highly critical of the vague, and often unreasoned appeals that this involves. Whilst agreeing with ...
More
Discussions of human dignity have burgeoned in bioethics. John Harris, amongst others, has been highly critical of the vague, and often unreasoned appeals that this involves. Whilst agreeing with much of his stance, it is argued that the concept of human dignity is not merely important but essential for bioethics. Various ways in which dignity has been appealed to in order to constrain autonomous action for self-harm or action that effects only non-autonomous beings (“dignity as constraint”) are criticised, some of which appeal to Kant’s idea of human dignity. However, as applied to non-autonomous beings, this is a misuse of Kant, and anyway Kant’s use of the idea manifests a tension between using dignity as a constraint on autonomy and seeing it as reflecting the fundamental value of autonomy. A conception of “dignity as empowerment” founded on the moral philosophy of Alan Gewirth is outlined and defended.Less
Discussions of human dignity have burgeoned in bioethics. John Harris, amongst others, has been highly critical of the vague, and often unreasoned appeals that this involves. Whilst agreeing with much of his stance, it is argued that the concept of human dignity is not merely important but essential for bioethics. Various ways in which dignity has been appealed to in order to constrain autonomous action for self-harm or action that effects only non-autonomous beings (“dignity as constraint”) are criticised, some of which appeal to Kant’s idea of human dignity. However, as applied to non-autonomous beings, this is a misuse of Kant, and anyway Kant’s use of the idea manifests a tension between using dignity as a constraint on autonomy and seeing it as reflecting the fundamental value of autonomy. A conception of “dignity as empowerment” founded on the moral philosophy of Alan Gewirth is outlined and defended.
Chak Kwan and Graham Bowpitt
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861344311
- eISBN:
- 9781447302551
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861344311.003.0009
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility
This chapter considers the two issues that have emerged from studying the dignity of unemployed persons in Sweden, China, the UK, and Hong Kong. The first issue is the application of human dignity to ...
More
This chapter considers the two issues that have emerged from studying the dignity of unemployed persons in Sweden, China, the UK, and Hong Kong. The first issue is the application of human dignity to the classification of welfare systems. The second issue is the impact of the welfare-to-work strategies on human dignity. The chapter also introduces the Dignity Suppressive State, the Human Instrumental State, the Social-deficit State, the Autonomy-limited State, and the Dignity Enhancement State.Less
This chapter considers the two issues that have emerged from studying the dignity of unemployed persons in Sweden, China, the UK, and Hong Kong. The first issue is the application of human dignity to the classification of welfare systems. The second issue is the impact of the welfare-to-work strategies on human dignity. The chapter also introduces the Dignity Suppressive State, the Human Instrumental State, the Social-deficit State, the Autonomy-limited State, and the Dignity Enhancement State.
Denise Réaume
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780197265642
- eISBN:
- 9780191760389
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265642.003.0032
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration
Dignity is at least in part about choice, choices about the character and direction of one’s life. However, many do not enjoy autonomy-fostering circumstances and yet must still make choices. Such ...
More
Dignity is at least in part about choice, choices about the character and direction of one’s life. However, many do not enjoy autonomy-fostering circumstances and yet must still make choices. Such choices and the circumstances shaping them are often the context of social and economic rights contests in a wide array of concrete legal contexts. All too often, state actors, including judges, take the easy way out in resolving such contests—ratifying the choices made by desperate people as though they were autonomous and free. In doing so, they sometimes claim to be respecting the dignity of those whose choices they validate. This chapter offers a critique of simple invocations of choice in the name of dignity and argues for the need for a more complex understanding of the autonomy dimension of human dignity.Less
Dignity is at least in part about choice, choices about the character and direction of one’s life. However, many do not enjoy autonomy-fostering circumstances and yet must still make choices. Such choices and the circumstances shaping them are often the context of social and economic rights contests in a wide array of concrete legal contexts. All too often, state actors, including judges, take the easy way out in resolving such contests—ratifying the choices made by desperate people as though they were autonomous and free. In doing so, they sometimes claim to be respecting the dignity of those whose choices they validate. This chapter offers a critique of simple invocations of choice in the name of dignity and argues for the need for a more complex understanding of the autonomy dimension of human dignity.
Scott Cutler Shershow
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780226088129
- eISBN:
- 9780226088266
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226088266.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter considers the semantic structure of two abstractions, dignity and sanctity, both individually and in terms of their relation and potential opposition. In the contemporary debate about a ...
More
This chapter considers the semantic structure of two abstractions, dignity and sanctity, both individually and in terms of their relation and potential opposition. In the contemporary debate about a right to die, one side claims to uphold an ideal of “death with dignity,” the other an ideal of “the sanctity of life.” Yet it proves to be impossible either to distinguish rigorously between dignity and sanctity or to force them into simple identity. Dignity appears in contemporary parlance to convey a triangle of meanings that are related but potentially distinct: worth or value, status or rank, and bearing or comportment. The idea of “the sanctity of life” similarly contains inherent contradictions and inconsistencies, not least because such a concept remains obviously at the command of a sovereign “right to death.” Partisans on both sides of the debate about a right to die are thus constantly forced to reclaim and redefine one or the other (or both) of these principles.Less
This chapter considers the semantic structure of two abstractions, dignity and sanctity, both individually and in terms of their relation and potential opposition. In the contemporary debate about a right to die, one side claims to uphold an ideal of “death with dignity,” the other an ideal of “the sanctity of life.” Yet it proves to be impossible either to distinguish rigorously between dignity and sanctity or to force them into simple identity. Dignity appears in contemporary parlance to convey a triangle of meanings that are related but potentially distinct: worth or value, status or rank, and bearing or comportment. The idea of “the sanctity of life” similarly contains inherent contradictions and inconsistencies, not least because such a concept remains obviously at the command of a sovereign “right to death.” Partisans on both sides of the debate about a right to die are thus constantly forced to reclaim and redefine one or the other (or both) of these principles.
Howard Ball
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814791042
- eISBN:
- 9780814769751
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814791042.003.0007
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration
This chapter examines the factors that accounted for successful efforts to legitimatize physician-assisted death (PAD) in Oregon and Washington State. In 1994 and in 1997, Oregon passed the nation's ...
More
This chapter examines the factors that accounted for successful efforts to legitimatize physician-assisted death (PAD) in Oregon and Washington State. In 1994 and in 1997, Oregon passed the nation's first end-of-life PAD legislation, the Oregon Death with Dignity Act (ODWDA). In 2008, the Washington Death with Dignity Act (WDWDA) was enacted. This chapter considers the hardball politics that surrounded passage of both PAD bills and why opposition to PAD did not prevail. It first provides an overview of ODWDA and the legal challenges it faced between 1995 and 2005, including those from President George W. Bush and the Republicans in Congress. It then turns to WDWDA and the Montana Supreme Court's decision in Baxter v Wyoming (2009) allowing doctor assistance in dying.
Less
This chapter examines the factors that accounted for successful efforts to legitimatize physician-assisted death (PAD) in Oregon and Washington State. In 1994 and in 1997, Oregon passed the nation's first end-of-life PAD legislation, the Oregon Death with Dignity Act (ODWDA). In 2008, the Washington Death with Dignity Act (WDWDA) was enacted. This chapter considers the hardball politics that surrounded passage of both PAD bills and why opposition to PAD did not prevail. It first provides an overview of ODWDA and the legal challenges it faced between 1995 and 2005, including those from President George W. Bush and the Republicans in Congress. It then turns to WDWDA and the Montana Supreme Court's decision in Baxter v Wyoming (2009) allowing doctor assistance in dying.
Howard Ball
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814791042
- eISBN:
- 9780814769751
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814791042.003.0007
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration
This chapter examines the factors that accounted for successful efforts to legitimatize physician-assisted death (PAD) in Oregon and Washington State. In 1994 and in 1997, Oregon passed the nation's ...
More
This chapter examines the factors that accounted for successful efforts to legitimatize physician-assisted death (PAD) in Oregon and Washington State. In 1994 and in 1997, Oregon passed the nation's first end-of-life PAD legislation, the Oregon Death with Dignity Act (ODWDA). In 2008, the Washington Death with Dignity Act (WDWDA) was enacted. This chapter considers the hardball politics that surrounded passage of both PAD bills and why opposition to PAD did not prevail. It first provides an overview of ODWDA and the legal challenges it faced between 1995 and 2005, including those from President George W. Bush and the Republicans in Congress. It then turns to WDWDA and the Montana Supreme Court's decision in Baxter v Wyoming (2009) allowing doctor assistance in dying.Less
This chapter examines the factors that accounted for successful efforts to legitimatize physician-assisted death (PAD) in Oregon and Washington State. In 1994 and in 1997, Oregon passed the nation's first end-of-life PAD legislation, the Oregon Death with Dignity Act (ODWDA). In 2008, the Washington Death with Dignity Act (WDWDA) was enacted. This chapter considers the hardball politics that surrounded passage of both PAD bills and why opposition to PAD did not prevail. It first provides an overview of ODWDA and the legal challenges it faced between 1995 and 2005, including those from President George W. Bush and the Republicans in Congress. It then turns to WDWDA and the Montana Supreme Court's decision in Baxter v Wyoming (2009) allowing doctor assistance in dying.
Eran Liss and Dan Adin
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- April 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199917419
- eISBN:
- 9780190260149
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199917419.003.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Intellectual Property, IT, and Media Law
This chapter introduces the reader to the basic features of Israel's legal system, with particular emphasis on those aspects that influence the country's intellectual property laws. It considers ...
More
This chapter introduces the reader to the basic features of Israel's legal system, with particular emphasis on those aspects that influence the country's intellectual property laws. It considers Israeli case law interpretation and codification based on principles taken from a wide range of sources, including traditional Jewish laws (“Hallacha”), international law, U.S. laws, and business and ethical customs. It also cites Israel's “Basic Laws,” which include the Freedom of Profession Basic Law and the Human Dignity and Freedom Basic Law. Finally, it takes note of Israeli contracts law and the interpretation of contracts.Less
This chapter introduces the reader to the basic features of Israel's legal system, with particular emphasis on those aspects that influence the country's intellectual property laws. It considers Israeli case law interpretation and codification based on principles taken from a wide range of sources, including traditional Jewish laws (“Hallacha”), international law, U.S. laws, and business and ethical customs. It also cites Israel's “Basic Laws,” which include the Freedom of Profession Basic Law and the Human Dignity and Freedom Basic Law. Finally, it takes note of Israeli contracts law and the interpretation of contracts.
Man Yee Karen Lee
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9789888139064
- eISBN:
- 9789882209732
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888139064.003.0008
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
This chapter considers Charter 08 as a manifestation of China's long fight for dignity by generations of dissidents. Indeed, despite the different views between Wei Jingsheng and Liu Xiaobo on ...
More
This chapter considers Charter 08 as a manifestation of China's long fight for dignity by generations of dissidents. Indeed, despite the different views between Wei Jingsheng and Liu Xiaobo on Charter 08, they are both part of a common intellectual history and political movement. Speaking one's mind against the government when called for and fighting for a political system that one believes in is, in essence, what a self-respecting person would do in keeping his or her dignity. After all, only human beings are capable of transcending basic animal instincts for the pursuit of higher values. It is that pursuit of higher values that has been motivating dissidents and activists in a hostile environment.Less
This chapter considers Charter 08 as a manifestation of China's long fight for dignity by generations of dissidents. Indeed, despite the different views between Wei Jingsheng and Liu Xiaobo on Charter 08, they are both part of a common intellectual history and political movement. Speaking one's mind against the government when called for and fighting for a political system that one believes in is, in essence, what a self-respecting person would do in keeping his or her dignity. After all, only human beings are capable of transcending basic animal instincts for the pursuit of higher values. It is that pursuit of higher values that has been motivating dissidents and activists in a hostile environment.
Tanya Katerí Hernández
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781479830329
- eISBN:
- 9781479840748
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479830329.003.0007
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration
This chapter will first summarize how the book’s review of multiracial discrimination cases reveals the enduring power of white privilege and the continued societal problem with non-whiteness in any ...
More
This chapter will first summarize how the book’s review of multiracial discrimination cases reveals the enduring power of white privilege and the continued societal problem with non-whiteness in any form. Specifically, the cases illustrate the perspective that non-whiteness taints rather than the concern that racial mixture itself is worrisome. Yet this insight is lost in the midst of the multiracial-identity scholars’ singular focus on promoting mixed-race identity. Multiracial victims of discrimination will be better served by legal analyses that seek to elucidate the continued operation of white supremacy. Such a focus will also better serve all Equality Law and public policies. But this can only be done by shifting away from a focus on personal individual identity recognition to a focus on group based racial realities. The chapter concludes with a proposal for an explicit “socio-political race” lens for analyzing matters of discrimination rather than the Personal Identity Equality perspective that misapprehends the social significance of race in the assessment of equality problems. The book’s emphasis on a socio-political race perspective meaningfully preserves an individual’s ability to assert a varied personal identity, while providing a more effective tool for addressing racism and pursuing equality.Less
This chapter will first summarize how the book’s review of multiracial discrimination cases reveals the enduring power of white privilege and the continued societal problem with non-whiteness in any form. Specifically, the cases illustrate the perspective that non-whiteness taints rather than the concern that racial mixture itself is worrisome. Yet this insight is lost in the midst of the multiracial-identity scholars’ singular focus on promoting mixed-race identity. Multiracial victims of discrimination will be better served by legal analyses that seek to elucidate the continued operation of white supremacy. Such a focus will also better serve all Equality Law and public policies. But this can only be done by shifting away from a focus on personal individual identity recognition to a focus on group based racial realities. The chapter concludes with a proposal for an explicit “socio-political race” lens for analyzing matters of discrimination rather than the Personal Identity Equality perspective that misapprehends the social significance of race in the assessment of equality problems. The book’s emphasis on a socio-political race perspective meaningfully preserves an individual’s ability to assert a varied personal identity, while providing a more effective tool for addressing racism and pursuing equality.
Scott Cutler Shershow
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780226088129
- eISBN:
- 9780226088266
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226088266.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
The question of a “right to die” — or what is sometimes called euthanasia or assisted-suicide — remains today the subject of vexed legal, political, ethical and philosophic debates. The Sacred ...
More
The question of a “right to die” — or what is sometimes called euthanasia or assisted-suicide — remains today the subject of vexed legal, political, ethical and philosophic debates. The Sacred Part brings the thought of deconstruction to bear on this debate to uncover the knot of unexamined assumptions at its core. The book first outlines a strategy and protocol of deconstruction to be employed in the analyses that follow. To contextualize the contemporary debate, the book provides a selective genealogy, from Cicero to Kant, of the concept of “human dignity,” and considers its relation to two other abstractions: “sovereignty” and “sanctity.” The book also considers a few outstanding examples of the philosophic approach to suicide in general. The concept of dignity proves to be characterized by a strange groundlessness by which it denotes the value of humanity in terms of a shifting relation of calculable and incalculable value. Similarly, the common theological and ethical prohibition of suicide proves to be recurrently troubled by a figure of sacrificial calculation. Such problems account for the unacknowledged contradictions that continue to emerge in the contemporary debate about a right to die. Finally, The Sacred Part rethinks the fundamental opposition at work in this question by envisioning a just care: a mutual commitment to one another that, making practically and economically possible the maintenance of life to its mortal limit, would correspondingly make possible a practical right to decide for death.Less
The question of a “right to die” — or what is sometimes called euthanasia or assisted-suicide — remains today the subject of vexed legal, political, ethical and philosophic debates. The Sacred Part brings the thought of deconstruction to bear on this debate to uncover the knot of unexamined assumptions at its core. The book first outlines a strategy and protocol of deconstruction to be employed in the analyses that follow. To contextualize the contemporary debate, the book provides a selective genealogy, from Cicero to Kant, of the concept of “human dignity,” and considers its relation to two other abstractions: “sovereignty” and “sanctity.” The book also considers a few outstanding examples of the philosophic approach to suicide in general. The concept of dignity proves to be characterized by a strange groundlessness by which it denotes the value of humanity in terms of a shifting relation of calculable and incalculable value. Similarly, the common theological and ethical prohibition of suicide proves to be recurrently troubled by a figure of sacrificial calculation. Such problems account for the unacknowledged contradictions that continue to emerge in the contemporary debate about a right to die. Finally, The Sacred Part rethinks the fundamental opposition at work in this question by envisioning a just care: a mutual commitment to one another that, making practically and economically possible the maintenance of life to its mortal limit, would correspondingly make possible a practical right to decide for death.
Derrick Darby and John L. Rury
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780226525211
- eISBN:
- 9780226525495
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226525495.003.0002
- Subject:
- Education, History of Education
This chapter documents racial achievement gap trends, and reviews the important yet limited contributions that social scientists have made to our understanding of the racial achievement gap.
This chapter documents racial achievement gap trends, and reviews the important yet limited contributions that social scientists have made to our understanding of the racial achievement gap.
Paul Spicker
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9781447309086
- eISBN:
- 9781447310860
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447309086.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
Moral individualism stresses the value of the individual, and the idea of the individual as an autonomous, self-determining, free agent, but there are many interpretations of what this means. Some ...
More
Moral individualism stresses the value of the individual, and the idea of the individual as an autonomous, self-determining, free agent, but there are many interpretations of what this means. Some interpretations have emphasised the importance of personal choice and the responsibility of individuals as moral actors; some writers consider property rights to be paramount. The welfare of individuals is sometimes identified with choice, and sometimes with rights, but it is more complex than either: the interests of individuals are closely affected by their relationships with other people.Less
Moral individualism stresses the value of the individual, and the idea of the individual as an autonomous, self-determining, free agent, but there are many interpretations of what this means. Some interpretations have emphasised the importance of personal choice and the responsibility of individuals as moral actors; some writers consider property rights to be paramount. The welfare of individuals is sometimes identified with choice, and sometimes with rights, but it is more complex than either: the interests of individuals are closely affected by their relationships with other people.
Stephen G. Engelmann
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780226429588
- eISBN:
- 9780226429618
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226429618.003.0007
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
In the twentieth century and beyond, market libertarians have consistently identified themselves with classical liberalism while contributing to the formation and justification of neoliberalism. They ...
More
In the twentieth century and beyond, market libertarians have consistently identified themselves with classical liberalism while contributing to the formation and justification of neoliberalism. They have done this, primarily, through the disenchantment of politics by economics; politics is denigrated and drained of power by an economics ready to step into its place. Classical liberalism enjoyed a republican foundation; it ennobled the market and secured it as one institution among many, whereas neoliberalism elevates the market idea to install it as a principle of government. Deirdre McCloskey's eloquent and nuanced defenses of the bourgeois era betray a concern about disenchantment. But their focus on moral disenchantment sidesteps what is essentially a political problem. McCloskey raises fundamental moral and scientific questions about neoliberal order, but her evasion of politics combined with her market advocacy tend to reinforce the phenomenon of economic rule.Less
In the twentieth century and beyond, market libertarians have consistently identified themselves with classical liberalism while contributing to the formation and justification of neoliberalism. They have done this, primarily, through the disenchantment of politics by economics; politics is denigrated and drained of power by an economics ready to step into its place. Classical liberalism enjoyed a republican foundation; it ennobled the market and secured it as one institution among many, whereas neoliberalism elevates the market idea to install it as a principle of government. Deirdre McCloskey's eloquent and nuanced defenses of the bourgeois era betray a concern about disenchantment. But their focus on moral disenchantment sidesteps what is essentially a political problem. McCloskey raises fundamental moral and scientific questions about neoliberal order, but her evasion of politics combined with her market advocacy tend to reinforce the phenomenon of economic rule.
Drucilla Cornell
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780823257577
- eISBN:
- 9780823261574
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823257577.003.0010
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This chapter was written by an Emeritus Consttutional Judge and a South African Professor as a response to Chapter 8. Emeritus Justice Yvonne Mokgoro is known as one of the leading scholars of ...
More
This chapter was written by an Emeritus Consttutional Judge and a South African Professor as a response to Chapter 8. Emeritus Justice Yvonne Mokgoro is known as one of the leading scholars of uBuntu, and was one of the leading judges in the development of the constitutional jurisprudence of uBuntu.Less
This chapter was written by an Emeritus Consttutional Judge and a South African Professor as a response to Chapter 8. Emeritus Justice Yvonne Mokgoro is known as one of the leading scholars of uBuntu, and was one of the leading judges in the development of the constitutional jurisprudence of uBuntu.
Scott Cutler Shershow
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780226088129
- eISBN:
- 9780226088266
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226088266.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Across the modern discourse of human rights, “human dignity” serves as the rubric for an ideal of individual freedom in its potential or actual antagonism with sovereign power. Yet the history and ...
More
Across the modern discourse of human rights, “human dignity” serves as the rubric for an ideal of individual freedom in its potential or actual antagonism with sovereign power. Yet the history and genealogy of both “dignity” and “sovereignty” shows that the two terms are intimately linked, both semantically and conceptually. A hypothetical individual “right to die” is thus finally inseparable from a sovereign “right to death.” Via a close analysis of a few classical and scriptural passages, the chapter observes how the concept of dignity appears always in need of a kind of supplement. For example, in contemporary parlance, especially in the discourse of human rights, the word “dignity” is almost always paired with “worth,” as though the word dignity is either not quite sufficient to state the value and status of humanity, or refers to a value that is more or different than simple worth.Less
Across the modern discourse of human rights, “human dignity” serves as the rubric for an ideal of individual freedom in its potential or actual antagonism with sovereign power. Yet the history and genealogy of both “dignity” and “sovereignty” shows that the two terms are intimately linked, both semantically and conceptually. A hypothetical individual “right to die” is thus finally inseparable from a sovereign “right to death.” Via a close analysis of a few classical and scriptural passages, the chapter observes how the concept of dignity appears always in need of a kind of supplement. For example, in contemporary parlance, especially in the discourse of human rights, the word “dignity” is almost always paired with “worth,” as though the word dignity is either not quite sufficient to state the value and status of humanity, or refers to a value that is more or different than simple worth.
