Oxímora. Revista Internacional de Ética y Política (Apr 2016)

The Usefulness of the Legal Concept of Human Dignity in the Human Rights Discourse: Literature Review

  • Borja Fernandez Burgueño

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1344/oxi.2016.i8.15472
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 0, no. 8
pp. 9 – 19

Abstract

Read online

This paper will evaluate the convenience of using the legal concept of human dignity in the human rights discourse and its effectiveness to address injustice in a twenty-first century democratic society. This article will argue that the difficulty of defining human dignity does not diminish its merits and allows it to be both solid and adaptable to new challenges. Then, this paper will argue that human dignity is a powerful concept due to its capacity to bring change and modernise society and will conclude that there is a strong relationship between time, human dignity, human rights and democracy.

Keywords