Introduction
The aim of this book is to develop a positive account of the value of human beings. This involves thinking about the nature of value itself. Following Judith Jarvis Thomson, when we say of something that it is “of value” we mean that it has some property that makes it reason-giving. Theunissen takes the humanist position that the relevant property is being such as to contribute to the quality of the life of human beings (or individuals more generally), and she explores the implications for the value of human beings themselves. The author situates her proposal between absolutist and eliminativist positions—between views that see human beings as absolutely valuable, and views that deny that there is a meaningful sense in which human beings are bearers of value at all.