Dignity and vulnerability

the long version

In this significant new addition to moral theory, George Harris challenges the view of the dignity and worth of persons that goes back through Kant and Christianity to the Stoics. In assessing what we actually value in ourselves and others, he argues that we are far more Greek than Christian, despite the long tradition of Christianity and its more recent Kantian progeny. Our deepest natural values reflect the fact that we value ourselves as organisms, as animals, rather than godlike beings who transcend nature. A major aim (and contribution) of the book is to provide a foundation for our belief in human dignity in what we can actually know about ourselves rather than in metaphysical or theological fantasy. Having gained this knowledge, we can understand the source of real strength.