Thomas Aquinas and Recent Questions about Human Dignity

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Published: Dec 1, 2013
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13153/diam.38.2013.540
Keywords:
Thomas Aquinas human dignity autonomy medical ethics bioethics utilitarian ethics

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Fred Guyette
Erskine College

Abstract

What is the status of human dignity in bioethics today? Ruth Macklin, Steven Pinker, and Peter Singer are among those who argue that “human dignity” is incoherent rhetoric, improperly smuggled into public discourse by religious people who are opposed to moral autonomy and want to block progress in cutting-edge medical research. In the moral philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, however, dignity is broader and deeper than its critics claim. It cannot simply be replaced by the concept of “autonomy.” Dignity plays a crucial role in building respect for human life. We first discover the dignity of “the other” in the context of family life, and discussion of the common good would be impoverished if we were somehow to eliminate it from our moral vocabulary. The respect we owe to human life in its embryonic stages serves as a paradigmatic case that shows the crucial importance of dignity.

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How to Cite
Guyette, Fred. 2013. “Thomas Aquinas and Recent Questions about Human Dignity”. Diametros, no. 38 (December):113-27. https://doi.org/10.13153/diam.38.2013.540.
Issue
No. 38 (2013)
Section
Special topic – THE MORAL PHILOSOPHY OF THOMAS AQUINAS AND CONTEMPORARY PRACTICAL ETHICS

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Author Biography

Fred Guyette, Erskine College

Fred Guyette Librarian for Reference and Research Erskine College 210 South Main Street Due West South Carolina 29639 USA e-mail: fguyette@erskine.edu Fred Guyette serves as Librarian for Reference and Research at Erskine College in Due West, South Carolina (USA). He first became interested in the moral philosophy of Thomas Aquinas when he was studying at The Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California.
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