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Human Dignity in Contemporary Ethics.

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UNDERSTANDING SELF AND SOCIETY: CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES

Module 1: Why is Human Dignity important ?

What is Human dignity ? "dignity: the quality of being worthy or honourable; worthiness, worth, nobleness, excellence. Latin dignitāt-em merit, worth"
Oxford English Dictionary The focus of UNCC100 is on the theme of the common good: how we think about what is needed in order for all people to flourish in society. UNCC300 shifts this focus from the social to the individual, although of course, we can never think about the individual without reference to the broader context of society. In this unit, we are going to consider what it means to be a human being, and more particularly, how we can understand the notion of human worth, or value. This is what we are referring to when we talk about human dignity.

Activity 1

Complete some research on Rosa Parks .

1. Who was she?
2. What impact did Rosa Parks have on the US Civil Rights movement?
3. What impact do you think Rosa Parks has had on our understanding of human dignity today? 4. There have been numerous songs written about Rosa Parks. The Neville Brothers recorded “Sister Rosa” in 1989. Click the link to hear the song and follow the lyrics. http://pancocojams.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/two-songs-about-rosa-parks-lyrics.html

Human dignity is probably a very familiar expression, because the concept is part of many conversations taking place in the contemporary world. At the same time, once we begin to think about it, we find that the basis of human dignity can be understood in a number of different ways.
As David McCabe points out: Most discussions of important moral and political issues, along with our everyday reflections on how others should be treated, occur against a background assumption of human dignity—for example, the idea that human beings have special standing shared by no

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