Dignity and the Foundation of Human Rights: Toward an Averroist Genealogy

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 304-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Vatter
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Legal Obligation ◽  
Political Views ◽  
Arabic Philosophy ◽  
Public Happiness ◽  
Legal Right

AbstractThe aim of this article is to give a new reconstruction of the conception of human dignity as a pre-associative yet legal status. Such a legal conception of human dignity carries a universal legal obligation to respect the “innate” right to independence and enables us to move beyond the impasse between moral and political views of human rights. The argument has a normative and a genealogical component. The normative component shows why a legal conception of human rights is grounded on the Kantian idea of an innate legal right to independence, as well as showing that Kant adopted a legal status concept of human dignity. The genealogical component shows that the conception of human dignity as legal status undergoes a transvaluation from its ancient aristocratic to its modern democratic meaning in Dante's political thought, which is itself rooted in the western reception of Arabic philosophy, in particular political Averroism. By contrast to the Christian elaboration of dignity, the Averroist genealogy of dignity better describes the modern pursuit of an ideal of worldly happiness essentially linked with the collective attainment of public happiness through the unrestricted public use of reason facilitated by republican constitutions crowned by human rights.

Part 2 Asylum, 7 Protection under Human Rights and General International Law

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Goodwin-Gill Guy S ◽  
McAdam Jane ◽  
Dunlop Emma
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Legal Obligation ◽  
Refugee Convention ◽  
National Governments

This chapter explores the development of the principle of non-refoulement beyond the Refugee Convention. In broad terms, this can be described as ‘complementary protection’ because the non-refoulement obligation derives from sources that are complementary to the Refugee Convention. However, though not a term of art, ‘complementary protection’ commonly implies the grant of a domestic legal status as well. Under general international law, the principle of non-refoulement is wider than its expression in article 33 of the 1951 Refugee Convention. While States have always recognized, to varying degrees, the protection needs of people falling outside the ‘refugee’ definition in article 1A(2) of the Convention, it is only in the last 25 years or so that they have begun to articulate such protection as an international legal obligation, rather than as a matter left to the discretion and humanitarian goodwill of national governments.

The Normative Status of the Responsibility to Protect after Libya

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Eve Loiselle
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Security Council ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
International Community ◽  
Responsibility To Protect ◽  
Legal Obligation ◽  
Member States ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
Normative Status

The responsibility to protect concept has evolved rapidly in the last decade but its normative and legal status is still disputed. This paper assesses the degree of recognition the concept has attracted since its inception and the significance of resolutions 1970 and 1973 for the transformation of the responsibility to protect into a new norm of customary international law. It argues that despite claims about the centrality of the concept in the decision to intervene in Libya, the language of both resolutions, and the statements made by members of the Security Council surrounding their adoption, indicate that member states did not consider that they were legally bound to protect the population of Libya. Consequently, the intervention in Libya has not promoted the development of a legal obligation upon the international community to protect the world’s populations against gross violations of human rights.

Energy in Public Administration - Between Human Rights and Efficient Administration

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-241
Author(s):  
Mirko Pecaric
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Public Affairs ◽  
Reciprocal Relation ◽  
Legal Principles ◽  
Informal Practices

This paper explores recent notions in public administration, which are intertwined and addressed to the administration of public affairs. On this basis it demonstrates that content of legal system is filled through the static legal principles and rules, but they receive their real content through the informal practices and conditions of the human mind. The paper concludes that discussed notions could have only one name, because they all are the synonyms of reciprocal relation between the human dignity and efficient administration.

The Concept of Imago Dei as a Symbol of Religious Inclusion and Human Dignity

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-36
Author(s):  
Wojciech Szczerba
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Modern Philosophy ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Imago Dei ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Gregory Of Nyssa ◽  
Relational Concept ◽  
Secular Society ◽  
Protestant Theologian ◽  
Inclusive Theology

This article aims to examine how the concept of Imago Dei can serve as a symbol for the broadly understood idea of religious inclusion and human dignity. The article explores the concept of Imago Dei primarily from a protological perspective, analyzing its usage in biblical writings, theological tradition and modern philosophy. The substantial, relational and functional—which three usages of the concept can be found in the inclusive theology of Gregory of Nyssa—are analyzed in this article. Arguably, in the context of religious inclusion, the relational angle of Imago Dei seems to be the most important. Similarly contemporary Protestant theologian, Jürgen Moltmann states in his book, God in the Creation, that the “relational” concept of Imago Dei underscores the fundamental dignity of every person. In his book, God for Secular Society, Moltmann states that properly understood human rights should include democratic relationships between people, cooperation between societies, concern for the environment in which people live, and responsibility for future generations. From these perspectives, the concept of Imago Dei can be utilized as a symbol indicating the dignity of every person and human community, but also a symbol against any types of racism, nationalism or xenophobia.

The Intersection of Security and Justice in Global Governance

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Durch ◽  
Joris Larik ◽  
Richard Ponzio
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Structural Violence ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
International Level ◽  
The Core ◽  
Personal Community

Security and justice are both essential elements in humanity’s quest not only to survive but to thrive with dignity; neither is sustainable alone. Security is merely the appearance of order in a framework of structural violence unless tempered or leavened by concepts of justice that include human rights, human dignity, and other normative limits on the use of power. The pursuit of justice, whether at the personal, community, national, or international level can be crippled if not matched, in turn, by means to sustain security at each level. This complementarity of security and justice—despite their inherent tensions—is the core conceptual framework of the book. Achieving “just security,” we argue, is essential to the success of any global governance enterprise or architecture.

Universal Human Dignity: Some Reflections in the Asian Context

2008 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 1-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Man Yee Karen Lee
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Belief Systems ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Asian Context ◽  
Common Association

AbstractThe idea of “human dignity” is accorded a prominent status in domestic constitutions and international human rights law. Its symbolism as a universal ground of human rights sits awkwardly with the absence of a precise definition. The concept has evolved over history and has been interpreted in various ways by people holding different worldviews. The elusive nature of human dignity creates challenges when it is evaluated across cultures. Despite its common association with the concept of liberal democracy, the idea of human worthiness is not necessarily absent in Asian societies, many of which function under alternative political systems.A cross-cultural perspective requires putting aside ethnocentrism and exploring the convergence of views from different belief systems. Examples from Confucianism and Islam may provide insights on how human dignity is understood and realized in various Asian contexts.

Military Necessity and the Cultures of Military Law

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 315-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
DAVID LUBAN
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Law Of War ◽  
Military Necessity ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Military Law ◽  
Interpretive Communities ◽  
The Military

AbstractMilitary and humanitarian lawyers approach the laws of war in different ways. For military lawyers, the starting point is military necessity, and the reigning assumption is that legal regulation of war must accommodate military necessity. For humanitarian lawyers, the starting point is human dignity and human rights. The result is two interpretive communities that systematically disagree not only over the meaning of particular law-of-war norms, but also over the sources and methods of law that could be used to resolve the disagreements. That raises the question whether military lawyers’ advice should acknowledge any validity to the contrary views of the ‘humanitarian’ community. The article offers a systematic analysis of the concept of military necessity, showing that civilian interests must figure in assessing military necessity itself. Even on its own terms, the military version of the law of war should seek to accommodate the civilian perspectives featured in the humanitarian version.

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