Fall 2021 Colloquium Series - 8 October
Jorge Sanchez Perez, Simon Fraser University :: From Human Dignity to the Dignity of Being: Indigenous Views and the Reshaping of Global Justice
Friday, October 8, 2021
Abstract: To talk about human dignity is to talk about a fundamental element for normative thinking in moral and political philosophy. The merits of human dignity, as perhaps the moral bedrock of the world after World War II, are undeniable. Yet, for all its merits, there is something problematic about grounding our conception of global justice, in theory or in practice, around human dignity as it currently stands. In this talk I will first show that if we pay close enough attention to current legal and political practices across the globe, Indigenous voices have already made an impact in our current moral commitments. Thus, forcing different actors in different parts of the global political community to incorporate more than human beings in their moral and legal deliberations. I then show how this new state of affairs opens new and exciting paths for moral and political philosophy. New perspectives on issues such as moral obligations and institutional design become necessary, and a move away from anthropocentric moral reasoning becomes key to engage in meaningful global debates about justice. I preliminarily propose the concept of dignity of being to encompass that which is meaningful about human dignity, without neglecting that which is meaningful about other beings.
Talk will be held at the Burnaby Campus in room WMC 3260 from 3:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Please note that attendance is restricted to SFU students, faculty, and staff.