originally published 9/1/2009

Moral philosopher Gilbert Meilaender examines the question of human dignity and its place within political discourse. Because what we believe about human dignity influences what we believe should be done to and for people in society, Meilaender believes people need to be discussing what human dignity is in politics. Meilaender suggests that those in politics who wish to bracket that discussion because it seems to be concerning a religious or metaphysical question are fundamentally mistaken in their desire, not least because, regardless of whether or not they wish to recognize it, the religious or metaphysical question does influence their decision. This is something he saw repeatedly over the course of his membership on the President’s Council on Bioethics. Meilaender goes on to describe two distinct ideas concerning human dignity which he believes are at work whenever people use the term; he then describes some of the reasons for confusion in American society concerning the dignity of the human person, including some developments in biotechnology. Gilbert Meilaender is the author of Neither Beast Nor God: The Dignity of the Human Person (Encounter Books, 2009). This interview was originally published on Volume 98 of the Journal.

The archives of the work of the President’s Council on Bioethics can be found here.

25 minutes

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