DePaul Law Review Volume 26 Issue 4 Summer 1977 Article 5 Human Dignity and the Law Tibor R. Machan Follow this and additional works at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/law-review Recommended Citation Tibor R. Machan, Human Dignity and the Law , 26 DePaul L. Rev. 807 (1977) Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/law-review/vol26/iss4/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Law at Via Sapientiae. It has been accepted for inclusion in DePaul Law Review by an authorized editor of Via Sapientiae. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. HUMAN DIGNITY AND THE LAW Tibor R. Machan* In this article, Professor Machan offers the view that a good legal system is based on a philosophy of individualism or ethical egoism, and concludes that a legal system best promotes a citi- zen's human dignity by protecting that citizen's individual identity and right of free choice. He argues that certain political and social programs do not in fact benefit the citizen, but rather are flawed because they erode respect for human dignity. Ordinarily, members of the legal profession attend only to the details and technicalities of their craft. It is rare for lawyers to scrutinize the broader foundations of their profession. In this re- spect they are similar to most other professionals. Yet, in all professions, certain basic problems may arise to create difficul- ties. Even when a profession faces no traumatic crises, it is useful to keep an eye on fundamental principles in order to prepare for possible impending difficulties.