Corinna Albers Dissertation Thesis English Language
These terms, in turn, are related to the term ‘dignity’, because autonomous beings are ends in themselves; and since ends in themselves have dignity, autonomous beings have dignity.But is it really the noumenal (‘autonomous’) will that grounds dignity?In this paper, we shall provide answers to these questions with regard to Kant’s .
Only if a rational being is free in the positive sense that this freedom is “a law for itself” (Fey: 1322) is such a being an end in itself and possess value: “The inner worth of the human being rests upon his freedom, upon the fact that he has a will of his own” (Fey: 1319).For imperfect beings, to act morally (to act with a practically-good will) means to act from duty.The noumenally-good will that is manifest in a person without (active) sensual hindrances is what Kant calls the ‘holy will’; it only belongs to God and other holy (infinite) beings.This ‘inner worth’ is also called here “dignity” (Fey: 1319).Thus, when it comes to be an end in itself, the relevant rationality is rationality and thus autonomy.
His basic answer is this: “It is not because others have a value that we should respect them, but it is because one should respect them that they have an importance and a dignity”.
In the introduction, you are attempting to inform the reader about the rationale behind the work, and to justify why your work is essential in the field.