the concept of Dignity anD life science law: a symbolic, Dynamic value at the heart of the social construction of man

Abstract

Included in human rights law just after the Second World War, dignity is the
quality common to all people in that it symbolises their human condition.
Inherent to each person, it is therefore independent of any other personal and
random condition (physical state, origin, colour, religion...) just as it is
independent of social conditions (a person’s dignity cannot be questioned by
society). However, the very context of this recognition – in the aftermath of the
defeat of Nazism – emphasises the fact that it was not something evident in
human history. So there is in this manifestation of the international community a
strong political sign which makes dignity as much a construction of man as a
quality consubstantial with his nature. A symbol of the human condition, dignity
is therefore also a dynamic value, a combat value. As such, it forces us to wonder