What is the role played by human dignity in Kants ethics?
As biological creatures, human beings are subject to natural physical laws just like the other denizens of the natural world. Howevever unlike other biological creatures, human beings are not merely natural creatures. We are also capable of moral behavior. This alone means that we have a dignity that sets us apart from other creatures. According to Kant, acting morally involves acting according to rules that we give to ourselves, principles. We are not just subject to the external laws of nature – in fact, our capacity for moral behavior is the essence of human autonomy, human freedom. Our freedom consists in the fact that we can act on rules other than those dictated by our natural inclinations. And since we are all capable of transcending our inclinations and acting morally, we all possess the dignity that ability confers. This is not to say that all of us in fact do act on rules other than our own inclinations – only that we could. In so far, as we are driven by inclination, however
