Information on the thesis

The dissertation is devoted to the formation and analysis of the egalitarian concept
of human dignity in the ethical and legal discourse. On the basis of the texts of Western
philosophical tradition, the typology of the concept of dignity has been carried out. The
typology contains four models: the cosmocentric model of the Ancient World based on the
criterion of virtue, the theocentric model of the Middle Ages – the criterion of Divine
likeness, the rationalist model of Modern – the mind, the polycentric model of Postmodern
– diversity. These four models form the core of understanding the phenomenon of dignity
in Western socio-cultural reality. It has been established that the idea of human dignity
originated as an ethical category with signs of elitism and hierarchy, which in the course of
development was transformed into the egalitarian legal status of a citizen. Transformation
of the idea of human dignity manifests itself in the context of changes in values of world
outlook: from virtue as internal value to normative status as an objective value. It has been
established that only after the abolition of social conditions, the idea of human dignity as
an egalitarian concept has been incorporated into the legal system and has become the
principle of law.
The difference between moral ethical and legal approaches in understanding of
human dignity (which raises the issue of correlation of the universal moral idea of human
dignity and the specific legal status of a citizen) has been revealed. The moral and legal
approaches to understanding the egalitarian concept of human dignity in the human rights
discourse have been exposed. The duality of the phenomenon of human dignity, which, on
the one hand, is the basis of human rights, on the other hand, is a separate form of law
(which is the right to dignity) has been clarified. The external and internal aspects of the
phenomenon of dignity have been singled out.
The structure of the phenomenon of dignity, which includes three aspects:
ontological, existential and communicative has been disclosed. The ontological aspect of
dignity implies the ability of each person to moral experience, which is potentially
inherent in all human beings. The ontological aspect of dignity determines the universality
of the phenomenon. An existential aspect constitutes a human person by actualizing
potential moral ability. The existential aspect is embodied through the experience of
respect due to the awareness of self-esteem. The communicative aspect embodies the
intersubjective nature of the phenomenon of dignity, which determines the mutual
recognition of dignity and is embodied in the relations of mutual respect. The
communicative nature of human dignity requires respect for each person as an ethical
minimum, in the form of negative respect – not to humiliate.
The content of subjective and objective factors in actualizing human dignity has
been specified: the first factor concerns a personality aspect: self-respect and self-esteem,
the second factor depends on respect and the attitude of other people. It has been
established that human dignity as a universal and egalitarian value is the ability for: (1)
moral experience based on person’s understanding of his/her own welfare, goodness, evil;
(2) accountability for the consequences of his/her actions. It has been confirmed that when
the dignity is viewed as ability, the legal status of a person is substantiated as well as the
recognition of dignity as ability of each person. This phenomenon requires objective
recognition, which is embodied in the state mechanisms of positive law. It has been
substantiated that human dignity is an absolute criterion in the competitive situation of
various types of human rights.
Key words: human dignity, dignitas, decorum, αξία, honor, virtue, person,
personality, respect, equality, freedom, responsibility, human rights, ability, ethical
minimum, citizen status.