SOME THEOLOGICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN DIGNITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Abstract

This article acknowledges that human dignity is a concept that cannot be not easily defined. It attempts to acquire a cognitive grip on dignity by defining it in terms of the needs and anxieties of human beings and in terms of narratives of the violation of dignity. The foundations of human dignity in Trinitarian faith are then discussed and specifically the implications and value of Helmut Thielicke's concept of alien dignity is briefly evaluated. It is argued that alien dignity does have the potential to enrich contemporary dignity discourses. The argument that the notion of alien dignity protects and enhances the dignity of the most vulnerable in society is specifically acknowledged and cherished in contemporary discourses on a theological anthropology of vulnerability. Finally, the article proposes that human rights are a crucial means by which to protect the dignity of the most vulnerable members of society and to enhance respect for dignity.