Raphael Bexten
Pages 161-184
DOI: 10.5840/cultura20096210
ABSTRACT
‘What is the sufficient reason for the inalienable dignity of man?’ If man has an inalienable dignity, there has to be an ontologically sufficient reason for the inalienable dignity of man. We find this ontologically sufficient reason for the inalienable dignity of man in the ontological being and essence of man, according to our thesis. We argue that the human being is a ‘person in a body.’ To be a person is an objective inestimable value, it is the objective value par excellence. We are persons from the beginning (conception), because it is not possible to become ‘someone.’ We argue that the intrinsic preciousness of being a person is the ontologically sufficient reason for the inalienable dignity of man. We do not want to separate values from beings; the inalienable dignity of the human person is the heart of his being and essence. Therefore we should speak more often of man, insofar as he is inestimably precious.