Human Dignity and the Objectification of the Human Being

Human subjectivity does not exist — and this is the true kernel of Skinner’s theory — beyond Nature, but is part of it and resides within it. By making its physical nature an object, the human being also makes its subjectivity an object — and thus a part of Nature. The strict difference between subjectivity and Nature, which forms the basis for the concept of human dignity, disappears. Briefly: there is no room within a scientific picture of humanity for the idea of human dignity. In its scientific self-interpretation, the human being positions itself “beyond freedom and dignity.” … Nothing could be more short-sighted at this point than the objection that this scientific penetration and technological control only apply to the natural side of the human being, not to its spiritual side and subjectivity. Hopes of saving the “inner” human being with this kind of dualism have always turned out to be naive. The human spirit is very much part of this world; it has a natural basis. The subject may not coincide with the body, but neither can it be separated from it. Technological access to the body will therefore not stop there: at some time or another, it will also affect the subject and its spirit. (Bayertz 1996: 86)