Human Dignity (Elements in the Philosophy of Immanuel Kant)

What is human dignity? Kant's philosophy is a central inspiration for our contemporary conception that all human beings deserve respect– independently of their race, gender, religion, or social status. In this Element, I shall address four topics in Kant's moral philosophy: What specifically does one have to do (or refrain from doing) to respect a human being? What is the reason why one should respect human beings? What is dignity, that is, what does the term mean, and what kind of thing is it? Finally, in a short appendix, I shall address the questions: Do only human beings deserve respect; how could one extend it to nonhuman animals as well? In each section, I shall offer a range of different interpretations of how one can read Kant's texts, and I shall address their advantages and disadvantages. This gives readers the option to choose for themselves which reading is the most plausible interpretation of human dignity.