Human Dignity: Its Roots and Challenges in Western Thought

Human Dignity: Its Roots and Challenges in Western Thought is a bold reappraisal of the concept of human dignity through the lens of Catholic tradition. Drawing on the biblical notion that human beings are made in the image and likeness of God (Imago Dei), John Loughlin, Senior Research Fellow at the Las Casas Institute, traces the development of this idea from antiquity to modernity. He examines key moments of continuity and rupture-from the Church Fathers to the Renaissance, the Reformation to Enlightenment secularism, and 20th-century renewal to today’s contested bioethical landscape. Integrating theology, philosophy, and political thought, the book engages contemporary moral debates while presenting a constructive Catholic anthropology. This is a timely and provocative contribution for scholars, students, and general readers concerned with the future of human dignity in a fragmented world.

The book will be released on the 2nd of April, but pre-orders are open now. To order a copy please see the publisher’s webpage at the link.

John Loughlin is a Senior Research Fellow of the Las Casas Institute at Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford, an Emeritus Fellow of St Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge, and Emeritus Professor of Politics, Cardiff University. He previously held the Chair of European Politics at Cardiff and was an Affiliated Lecturer of Politics at the University of Cambridge. A former Cistercian monk, he has published volumes with Oxford University Press, Bloomsbury, and Routledge. He is a Fellow of the UK’s Academy of Social Sciences and of the Learned Society of Wales and has advised several European governments and international institutions.

His current research at the Las Casas Institute focuses on two major projects. The first is an interdisciplinary collaboration with Professor László Zsolnai (Corvinus University of Budapest) on human dignity, economic life, and the moral foundations of business practice, bringing together philosophy, theology, business ethics, and moral psychology. The second project examines Catholic intellectuals in modern France, exploring the contribution of Catholic philosophers, theologians, and public intellectuals to debates on the French Republic, laïcité, human dignity, and public life from the twentieth century to the present.