Dignity, humanity and Aristotelianism
- All humans have dignity because they are humans.
- Humans do not have dignity because of an extrinsic property.
- So, being human isn't an extrinsic property.
- If to be human is to be a member of a particular biological taxon, then being human is extrinsic. (Biological taxa are defined by gene interchange in a population and are thus extrinsic characterizations of individuals.)
- So, to be human is not the same as to be a member of a biological taxon.
- Our best alternative to the biological taxonomic account of what it is to be human is the Aristotelian account that it is to have a human form, so the Aristotelian account is probably true.
Good argument. I like it.
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