This volume is devoted to exploring a subject which, on the surface, might appear
to be just a trending topic. In fact, it is much more than a trend. It relates to an
ancient, permanent issue which directly connects with people’s life and basic needs:
the recognition and protection of individuals’ dignity, in particular the inherent worthiness
of the most vulnerable human beings. The content of this book is described
well enough by its title “Human Dignity of the Vulnerable in the Age of Rights.”
Certainly, we do not claim that only the human dignity of vulnerable people should
be recognized and protected. We rather argue that, since vulnerability is part of the
human condition, human vulnerability is not at odds with human dignity. To put it
simply, human dignity is compatible with vulnerability.
A concept of human dignity which discards or denies the dignity of the vulnerable
and weak is at odds with the real human condition. Even those individuals who
might seem more skilled and talented are fragile, vulnerable, and limited. We need
to realize that human condition is not limitless. It is crucial to rediscover a sense of
moderation regarding ourselves and a sense of reality concerning our own nature.
Some lines of thought take the opposite view. It is sometimes argued that humankind
is – or is called to be – powerful and that the time will come when there will be
no vulnerability, no fragility, and no limits at all. Human beings will become like
God (or what believers might think God to be). This perspective rejects human vulnerability
as an intrinsic evil. Those who are frail or weak and who are not autonomous
or not able to behave for themselves do not possess dignity. In this volume, it
is claimed that vulnerability is an inherent part of human condition, and because
human dignity belongs to all individuals, laws are called to recognize and protect
the rights of all of them, particularly of those who might appear to be more vulnerable
and fragile.