ABSTRACT
The end of the Second World War was witness to various – and much needed – universal affirmations of human rights and human dignity. But what is the source of these rights and this dignity? In what understanding of human nature are rights and dignity not only possible but also plausible? Whatever cultural consensus in the West may have existed in prior generations, that consensus has evaporated in the twenty-first century. Thus, revisiting the moral-philosophical assumptions that inform competing notions of “personhood” is not only requisite but also sorely needed. This chapter explores the notion of personhood by considering what constitutes human “nature” and hence what makes human personhood unique. It offers a natural-law account of personhood and dignity based on a theistic rendition of the imago Dei, anchoring the concepts of rights and duties in the baseline notion of human moral obligation – an obligation that corresponds with, and is owing to, the natural law. To illustrate the universal application of the natural law, the “Golden Rule” and “Good Samaritan” model is appropriated. This is done with a view to weigh human moral obligation in situations that require humanitarian intervention on behalf of those who are victims of mass atrocity and egregious human rights violations.
