16. Jahrgang • 2019 MBS TEXTE 191 Thomas K. Johnson Is Human Dignity Earned or is Human Dignity a Gift? A Contribution of the Evangelical Faith to Human Rights Discourse BUCER IN S T E M R A I N M A R 2 1 : E P 4 H TheologicalTheologische Accents Akzente TableInhaltsverzeichnis of Contents Is Human Dignity Earned or is Human Dignity a Gift? .................................................... 3 Annotation ............................................................................... 9 Bibliography ............................................................................. 9 The Author ............................................................................. 14 Imprint ...................................................................................15 1. Aufl. 2019 Is Human Dignity Earned or is Human Dignity a Gift? Is Human Dignity Earned or is Human Dignity a Gift? A Contribution of the Evangelical Faith to Human Rights Discourse Thomas K. Johnson This is a lightly revised version of a of the different academic disciplines: human rights lecture that Thomas K. law, psychology, economics, sociology, Johnson originally delivered in May 1996 art, philosophy, and theology. And the with the title “Why Is Human Life Valu- answers we find to this question are very able?” at a symposium of Russian- and important not only for our personal life English-speaking professors at the Liva- but also for our life together in society, dia Palace in Yalta, Crimea—the palace as neighbors. We need to understand where Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt the peculiar dignity and “humanness” met at the end of World War II. From of humanity, as we also need to under- 1994 to 1996 Johnson served as visiting stand the peculiar inhumanity of man professor of philosophy for the European to man. Humanities University (EHU) in Minsk, In this essay I want to explore one Belarus. EHU was started in 1992 as small part of the question of human an openly pro-democracy university by nature, namely, “Why is human life scholars who had worked for the collapse valuable?”—a question that can be of communism. It came into conflict with made more pointed when phrased as, the Belarussian authorities as Belarus “Is human dignity earned or is human moved toward authoritarianism, starting dignity a gift?” Differing views in this in 1994. In 2004, the Belarussian gov- area lie immediately behind many of our ernment forced EHU to relocate to Lithu- other important questions, such as why ania because of its continued outspoken we should protect human rights, why support of democracy. we should practice humanitarian aid and medical care, and why we should ***** be concerned about the safety of the individual in daily life. And it is clear, I As we come to the end of the twen- believe, that this is not only a question of tieth century, one of the greatest intel- metaethics; it is also a problem of basic lectual questions we face is “What is a philosophy. Any philosophy without a human being?” In one way or another, satisfactory explanation of the value of this question is being discussed in many human life needs serious revision. THEOLOGISCHE AKZENTE 3 Thomas K. Johnson In modern thought there tend to be desires.”3 And in order to have a desire two types of answers to why human life for a continuing life, it must have a con- is valuable; some would claim that the cept of a continuing self. dignity of the person is earned by some This all sounds eminently reasonable, human function or ability while oth- but the problems become apparent once ers claim that human dignity is a gift one sees how Tooley uses his principles. that is given in a relationship. The first Obviously he can defend abortion with approach can be called “functional- this system. He also defends infanti- ism,” the second “personalism.” Func- cide, because infants apparently do not tionalist views of human value tend have a concept of a continuing self. But to arise within a naturalistic world- many higher animals probably do have view. Personalist views of human dig- a right to live, presumably a right equal nity are usually found among theists. to that of human beings, because they Functionalist views of human dignity seem to have an interest in and a con- sometimes lead to viewing homo sapi- cept of a continuing self. It is interest- ens who lack certain crucial functions ing that he uses the term “murder” to as being sub-human and discardable. A describe the killing of higher animals. personalist view of human dignity may And one is forced to suspect that a per- lead us to significant sacrifices for our son in a short coma would not have any neighbors. This distinction between rights in his system. What started as differing views requires explanation, a theory of human rights leads to the first by illustrating functionalism, then conclusion that killing babies is mor- personalism. ally acceptable, but eating meat or An interesting variety of functional- wearing leather shoes is murder. This ism is found in the writings of Michael is a good indicator of the problem of Tooley, who inquired into “what prop- starting with a human function, in this erties a thing must possess in order to case having an interest, as the basis for have a right to life.”1 Obviously a right the value of a person. to live is foundational for any other A somewhat similar variety of func- rights one might have. His answer goes tionalism is found in the philosophy of something like this. He quotes Joel Mary Anne Warren. She asks, “What Feinberg: “The sorts of beings who can sort of entity, exactly, has the inalien- have rights are precisely those who have able rights to life, liberty, and the (or can have) interests.” This means that pursuit of happiness?”4 Though she is “an entity cannot have any rights at all, obviously quoting the American Dec- and a fortiori, cannot have a right to laration of Independence, her overall life, unless it is capable of having inter- point of view is, I think, quite different ests.”2 And in order to have interests, it from that of the Declaration. She sug- “must necessarily be a subject of con- gests that we have to make a distinc- scious states, including experiences and tion between genetic humanity and 4 MBS TEXTE 191 Is Human Dignity Earned or is Human Dignity a Gift? personhood, and that only persons, answers will lead to the same problems not genetic human beings, have moral as do Tooley’s. She very candidly says rights. She says, that humans at the beginning and end Imagine a space traveler who lands on of life may not be persons and that they an unknown planet and encounters are without moral rights. a race of beings utterly unlike any he A third good example of function- has ever seen or heard of. If he wants alism is found in the writings of pro- to be sure of behaving morally toward cess philosopher John B. Cobb, Jr. He these beings, he has to somehow decide claims that “although the right of a whether they are people, and hence human being to life is quite fundamen- have full moral rights, or whether they tal, it is not absolute. It is derived from, are the sort of thing which he need not and therefore subordinate to, the right feel guilty about treating as, for exam- of people to carry out their own proj- 6 ple, a source of food.5 ects.” Having projects to carry out is what gives distinctive value to human In answering this question, Warren life and what confers rights on a person. suggests that the traits of personhood Cobb clarifies his view by way of two are roughly the following: sharp contrasts. He contrasts the life of 1. consciousness, especially the capacity a person with the life of an infant and to feel pain, with the life of an animal. An infant on 2. reasoning, the way to personhood goes through 3. self-motivated activity, two major transformations. The first 4. the capacity to communicate, is that while an infant lives fully in the 5. the presence of self-concepts and self- present, a “child comes to have his or awareness. her own projects that demand respect.”7 Warren does not think an entity The second is that in infancy, all expe- needs to meet all five criteria to be a rience is unified in serving the body, person. The first two may be sufficient. whereas a child uses the body to imple- But the absence of all five would surely ment projects. And, Cobb believes, indicate, she claims, that an entity is animals do not generally make the not a person and therefore has no moral transition to using their bodies to ful- rights. fill projects beyond preservation of their Her list of traits of personhood has bodies. much value. These are, of course, traits The problem with such a theory we normally find in people. But the is that humans who do not yet or no crucial question is whether one has to longer have projects do not have the earn the status of personhood by means moral status of personhood, and there- of having the normal functions and fore their lives have no particular moral abilities or if the status of personhood value. On the other hand, some animals is given as a gift. Clearly her approach might cross the line to become persons. is a functionalist approach, and her THEOLOGISCHE AKZENTE 5 Thomas K. Johnson It is a clear example of functionalism, concentration camps. The philosophies albeit with a distinctive perspective on of functionalism usually come with what function is needed to earn human the high moral tone of explaining why dignity.