The term "dignity" is defined as "the state of being worthy of honour or respect" (The Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary, New York, Clarendon Press, 1991, p. 403). When this concept is associated with the adjective "human", it is used to signify that all human beings possess inherent worth and deserve unconditional respect, regardless of age, sex, health status, social or ethnic origin, political ideas or religion. In other words, this respect is owed to every individual by the mere fact that he or she is a "member of the human family" (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, Preamble). This intrinsic worthiness is widely recognized by international law as the source of all human rights. In this respect, both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) of 1966 affirm that human rights “derive from the inherent dignity of the human person”.

At the philosophical level, following Kant, the expression human dignity is used to indicate that persons should always be treated as ends in themselves and never merely as means. Kant presents “dignity” as exactly the opposite of “price”: while “price” is the kind of value for which there can be an equivalent, “dignity” makes a person irreplaceable. Therefore, dignity can be explained as a requirement of non-instrumentalization of persons. According to this anti-utilitarian approach, there is nothing, neither pleasure nor common interest of society or science, nor other good consequences, for which it is morally acceptable to treat persons merely as a means.

The idea is in some ways controversial, mainly in regard to the question of whether it also applies to human embryos or non-human beings and if not, why. Utilitarian philosophers see a conflict with their principle of equal consideration of interests, and sometimes the idea is criticised as an example of speciesism. Some see deployment of the term as a vehicle for smuggling religious conceptions of value into otherwise secular public policy debates. For other uses, see Embryo (disambiguation). ... Utilitarianism is a suggested theoretical framework for morality, law and politics, based on quantitative maximisation of some definition of utility for society or humanity. ... Equal consideration of interests is the name of a moral principle that states that one should both include all affected interests when calculating the rightness of an action and weigh those interests equally. ... The relevance of particular information in (or previously in) this article or section is disputed. ...

German Constitution

Human dignity features as the most fundamental principle of the German constitution. Article 1, paragraph 1 reads: "Human dignity is inviolable. To respect and to protect it is the duty of all state authority." Human dignity is thus mentioned even before the right to life. This has a significant impact on German law-making and jurisdiction in both serious and trivial items: Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution[1] of Germany. ...

• It is the base of § 131 StGB, which outlaws representation of violence in certain cases and was the grounds for the confiscation of many horror movies and some video games like Manhunt or the Mortal Kombat series.
• § 14 (3) of the Luftsicherheitsgesetz, which would have allowed the Bundeswehr to shoot down airliners if they are used as weapons by terrorists, was declared unconstitutional mainly on the grounds of human dignity.
• A Benetton advertisement showing human butocks with an "H.I.V. positive" stamp was declared in violation of human dignity by some courts, but in the end found legal.[1][2]
• The first German law legalizing abortion in 1905 was declared unconstitutional because the court held that embryos had human dignity, too.[3] In the new law on abortion that was developed in the 1990s, this has been recognized in that early-term abortions are still not legal, the state merely declines to administer the due punishment.
• In a decision from 1981-12-15, the Bundesverwaltungsgericht declared that peep shows violated the human dignity of the performer, regardless of her personal feelings. The decision was later revised.

The Strafgesetzbuch is the German criminal code of justice. ... DVD cover showing horror characters as depicted by Universal Studios. ... This article is about computer and video games. ... Manhunter: New York and Manhunter 2: San Francisco Manhunt is a controversial video game released by Rockstar Games in November, 2003. ... For other uses, see Mortal Kombat. ... A German law created in reaction to the September 11, 2001 attacks. ... The Bundeswehr (German for Federal Defence Force;  ) is the name of the unified armed forces of Germany. ... Benetton Group S.p. ... Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections. ... For other uses, see Embryo (disambiguation). ... Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A peep show or peepshow is an exhibition of pictures or objects viewed through a small hole or magnifying glass. ...

External links

• Health Care Policy in Three Rules