The legality of human dignity: developing the legal philosophy of Lon L. Fuller

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Muhamad, Najmadeen Ahmed (2020). The legality of human dignity: developing the legal philosophy of Lon L. Fuller. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

This dissertation examines the ways in which Kantian conception of human dignity can reshape and develop the course of legal philosophy Lon L. Fuller under the thesis of the legality (the rule of law) of human dignity (LHD). The overarching purpose is to bring to the surface the deeper connection between Fuller’s model of the rule of law (formal legality) and human dignity as a moral value. In particular, the LHD entails that the formal legality serves and protects human dignity from the exercise of arbitrary, social, and political power in the framework of human interactions. In this context, the value of human dignity (especially in Kantian conception) is worth inserting into the picture of the moral reason served by Fuller’s formal legality. Human dignity synthesizes into a harmonious whole the distinct values upheld by the rule of law. The initial plausibility of this claim derives from the fact that formal legality establishes and maintains law as intelligible, some degree of predictability, stability, and certainty of the social and political environment in which a person can interact and live with dignity. The LHD thus involves more than a change in terminology. It presents a novel account of what the rule of law (in Fuller’s model of formal legality) necessitates, why we should care, and how it would change our attitude about the moral conception of law.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):