While respect for autonomy widely has replaced human dignity as one of the core principles in bioethics, the principle of autonomy has shown several shortcomings in clinical practice and research. At the same time dignity is referred to in legislation and in campaigns such as “death with dignity.” This calls for the question of what the distinctive function of dignity is and what it can be in moral discourse.
Vilhjálmur Árnason is professor at the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities, and director of Centre for Ethics at the University of Iceland. He is a board member of the International Association of Bioethics and the chair of the Nordic-Baltic Network of the philosophy of medicine and medical ethics. Árnason is associate editor of the Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics and has published widely in the field of ethics.
The seminar is open for everyone.