The concept of human dignity in the Political Thought of Shiite: Case Study of Imam Khomeini Thought

Document Type : Research Paper

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Abstract

One of the most fundamental issues in anthropological discourse is the topic of the human dignity and of his dignity criterion. This paper investigates the subject in the Political Thought of Shiite especially in the political thought of Imam Khomeini. This article answers the following questions: What are the criteria and standards for human dignity? Is being human enough to have dignity? What are the mandatory conditions and capacities to attain the dignity? and etc. As concluded in the present paper, considering the Two-Essence Theory proposed by Imam Khomeini, the dignity is assumed to potentially be the same in all human beings. The human has the intrinsic dignity because he is the delegate of Allah. But, accomplishment of the actions in opposition of this dignity, cause the waste of it. He will enjoy the dignity if he satisfies the requirements of delegation. The discussed theory named the Conditional Dignity Theory, exploits such a powerful objective that can provide the relation between the two kinds of the dignity, intrinsic and acquisitive, in the Political Thought of Shiite especially in Imam Khomeini thoughts.

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