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Series:   Elements in Philosophy of Law

Dignity and Rights

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 February 2025

Ariel Zylberman
Ariel Zylberman
Affiliation:
University at Albany, State University of New York

Summary

Dignity and rights are pervasive ideas. But how exactly should we understand them? Although philosophical theories of dignity and of rights typically proceed independently of each other, this Element treats them together. One advantage of doing so is that we can see a deeper unity underlying the familiar difficulties of standard accounts of dignity and rights (Sections 1 and 2). A second advantage is that understanding how many of the difficulties stem from the reductivist structure of the standard accounts lets us envisage a non-reductivist alternative. Drawing from the metaphysics of kinds and dispositions and from social ontology shows that dignity and rights are fundamental and interdependent normative properties. As pre-conventional properties (Section 3), dignity and rights mark a distinct type of value and function dispositionally, directed to actualization through recognition by others. As social properties (Section 4), they specify the normative status and entitlements constitutive of social kinds.
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Keywords

dignityrightsrelational normsethicsphilosophy of law
Type
Element
Information
Series: Elements in Philosophy of Law
Online ISBN: 9781009238601
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication: 06 February 2025

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Dignity and Rights
  • Ariel Zylberman, University at Albany, State University of New York
  • Online ISBN: 9781009238601
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Dignity and Rights
  • Ariel Zylberman, University at Albany, State University of New York
  • Online ISBN: 9781009238601
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Dignity and Rights
  • Ariel Zylberman, University at Albany, State University of New York
  • Online ISBN: 9781009238601
Available formats
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