Inherent Human Dignity explores the philosophical and existential foundations of what it means to be human. Inherent Human Dignity is a philosophical meditation and defense of the value of being human. Glenn Hughes explores the existential foundations of these concepts in this structured and accessible study about the experience of being human. Hughes locates human dignity within the philosophical, political, and historical horizons of human culture. Guided by Eric Voegelin and Bernard Lonergan, literary and artistic examples, key moments of our modern era, and his own scholarship on the religions of the world, Hughes unfolds and accounts for human dignity's place in our world. He additionally utilizes key moments of our modern era to frame our understanding of human dignity, paying close attention to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that was created by the United Nations following World War II. Ultimately, Hughes's meditation is concerned both with exploring the maximally differentiated set of insights into the meaning of being human and with articulating why the discovery of the inherent equal dignity of every person-without exception-is a profound and unique achievement.
Glenn Hughes (1951-2024) was professor emeritus at St. Mary's University. He was the inaugural holder of the St. Mary's Chair in Catholic Philosophy. He was the author of several books including From Dickinson to Dylan: Visions of Transcendence in Modernist Literature and Transcendence and History: The Search for Ultimacy from Ancient Societies to Postmodernity. James Greenaway is the San Jose-Lonergan Chair in Catholic Philosophy at St. Mary's University. He is the author of A Philosophy of Belonging: Persons, Politics, Cosmos.
Foreword Preface Part 1. Preliminaries 1. Honesty 2. Meaning & Value 3. The Cosmos 4. Belonging 5. The Desire to Know 6. Myth 7. The World of Space and Time 8. Science 9. Misunderstanding Human Nature 10. Constants of Human Nature Part 2. The Idea of Inherent Human Dignity 11. Inherent Human Dignity 12. Inherent Dignity in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (I) 13. Inherent Dignity in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (II) 14. Persons, Rights, and Dignified Living 15. Digression: The Universal Search for Dignified Living 16. The Challenge of Respecting Inherent Dignity 17. Transcendent Mystery and Shakenness 18. Eclipsing Transcendent Mystery 19. Inherent Dignity as Both Concept and Mythic Symbol 20. The Refusal to Understand Inherent Dignity 21. Inherent Dignity and Ideaology Epilogue: Love and Inherent Dignity Bibliography
"Hughes shows us the way to reclaim our inherent dignity within a world of meaning. This book promises to be the go-to volume that concisely explains not just that we should affirm inherent dignity for all human beings, but how and why we must." -John von Heyking, author of Comprehensive Judgement and Absolute Selflessness "Inherent Human Dignity fills a need for a thoroughgoing philosophical defense of the notion of inherent human value and dignity." -David Baggett, co-author of The Moral Argument
