A Discussion on "Dignity"

http://www.tnr.com/story_print.html?id=d8731cf4-e87b-4d88-b7e7-f5059cd0bfbd

Here is an essay about bioethics. The author's claim is that there is too much talk about "dignity" in the discussion of bioethics. (Bioethics=a discussion of whether it is right or wrong to experiment with and change the human body. An example: should we study stem cells or cadavers [dead bodies] or etc. to look for cures for human disease, or does it violate the dignity of life to make these studies?) This is a challenging read, but if you want to try to read it, go down about 70% of the essay to the paragraph that begins with "To be fair...." At this point in the essay, the author talks about how abstract the idea of "dignity" is, how much the concept of "dignity" has changed over time, and how useless "dignity" is as an idea for discussing bioethics because of its abstractness.

This can give you a good example of how to discuss an abstract idea and how to make complex arguments. I will try to post more information to help you understand the essay, but you don't have to read it.