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Dignity

Dignity (from the Latin dignitas meaning "worth, worthiness; dignity, position, rank, status; authority, office; self-respect, grace") in some of its modern usages has come to mean the right of a person to be valued and respected for their own sake, and to be treated ethically. In this context, it is of significance in morality, ethics, law and politics as an extension of the Enlightenment-era concepts of inherent, inalienable rights. The term may also be used to describe personal conduct, as in "behaving with dignity".

For other uses, see Dignity (disambiguation).

The content of contemporary dignity is derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, summarized in the principle that every human being has the right to human dignity. In Article 1, it is stipulated that 'All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.[1]

Etymology[edit]

The English word "dignity", attested from the early 13th century, comes from Latin concept of dignitas, variously translated as "worthiness" or "prestige",[2] by way of French dignité.[3]

Modern use[edit]

English-speakers often use the word "dignity" in proscriptive and cautionary ways: for example, in politics it can be used to critique the treatment of oppressed and vulnerable groups and peoples, but it has also been applied to cultures and sub-cultures, to religious beliefs and ideals, and even to animals used for food or research.


"Dignity" also has descriptive meanings pertaining to the worth of human beings. In general, the term has various functions and meanings depending on how the term is used and on the context.[4]


In ordinary modern usage, the word denotes "respect" and "status", and it is often used to suggest that someone is not receiving a proper degree of respect, or even that they are failing to treat themselves with proper self-respect. There is also a long history of special philosophical use of this term. However, it is rarely defined outright in political, legal, and scientific discussions. International proclamations have thus far left dignity undefined,[5][6] and scientific commentators, such as those arguing against genetic research and algeny, cite dignity as a reason but are ambiguous about its application.[7]


Dignity also tends to connote the features of self-contained serenity, of a certain inward and toned-down but yet translucent and perceptible power of self-assertion: the dignified type of character is chary of emphatic activity rather than sullenly passive, perhaps impassive rather than impassible, patient rather than anxiously defensive, and devoid but not incapable of aggressiveness[8]

Violations[edit]

Categories[edit]

Human dignity can be violated in multiple ways. The main categories of violations are:[9]

Religion[edit]

Human dignity is a central consideration of Christian philosophy.[20][37][38] The Catechism of the Catholic Church insists that the "dignity of the human person is rooted in his or her creation in the image and likeness of God". "All human beings", says the Church, "in as much as they are created in the image of God, have the dignity of a person." The catechism states that "the right to the exercise of freedom belongs to everyone because it is inseparable from his or her dignity as a human person",[39] and also links animal welfare to human dignity: "it is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly".[40]


The Catholic Church's view of human dignity is like Kant's, insofar as it springs from human agency and free will,[21] with the further understanding that free will in turn springs from human creation in the image of God.[41]


Human dignity, or kevod ha-beriyot, is also a central consideration of Judaism.[42] Talmud cautions against giving charity publicly rather than in private to avoid offending the dignity of the recipient.[43] Medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides, in his codification of Halakha, cautioned judges to preserve the self-respect of people who came before them: "Let not human dignity be light in his eyes; for the respect due to man supersedes a negative rabbinical command".[43]


An Islamic view of dignity is crystallized in the Quran through the selected biographies of Noah, Abraham, Joseph, David, Moses, Mary, Jesus, Muhammed, and others (differing from the narratives in the Bible, which the Quran claims were corrupted). Individuals such as these are presented as role-models of dignity because they did not abandon their self-respect by bowing to social pressures. When faced with the fear of disapproval, poverty, hunger, death etc. these individuals held firm in their sense of right and wrong, which was in-line with Divine ordinances. "The right course is that on which one keeps his attitudes, ambitions and requirements subjected to the Divine Laws; and in this way leads a balanced and graceful life. Such a person has grasped the most trustworthy support which will never fail him" (Quran 31:22).[44] Such individuals are given the title of Muhsineen, who faced immense pressures but held firm in their positive actions. God awarded these individuals with authority and status in the land, and this reward is open to anyone who proves themselves worthy: "We bestow such honour and position on all those who lead their lives according to Our Laws." (Quran 37:80)[45] Those who fall into this category are also afforded Divine protection from their mistakes: "Therefore We have saved you and your son from this. We have done so because We keep those who lead their lives according to Divine guidance safe from such mishaps." (37:104–105)[45] The Quranic State that Muhammad began in Medinah sought to protect human dignity, since in a Quranic Welfare State individuals are free to work and live without the pressures faced by the threat of poverty, and thus can obey God's Laws as free individuals, contributing as part of a unified brotherhood working towards achieving humanity's full potential. Elaborations on dignity have been made by many scholars of Islam, such as Mohammad-Ali Taskhiri, head of the Islamic Culture and Communications Organization in Iran, in 1994. According to Taskhiri, dignity is a state to which all humans have equal potential, but which can only be actualized by living a life pleasing to the eyes of God.[46] This is in keeping with the 1990 Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, which states that "True faith is the guarantee for enhancing such [basic human] dignity along the path to human perfection".[47]


Ultimately, the Buddhist understanding of human dignity is rooted in the idea that people are able to choose the path of self-perfection. The state of self-perfection, a condition of fully developed courage, wisdom and compassion, is described as Buddhahood or enlightenment. The idea that all people—all life, in fact—have this potential is expressed by the concept, stressed particularly in the Mahayana tradition, that all living beings possess Buddha nature.[48]

Human dignity is the basis of § 131 of the , which prohibits the depiction of cruelty against humans in an approving way. § 131 has been used to confiscate horror movies and to ban video games like Manhunt and the Mortal Kombat series.

German criminal code

A decision by the German Federal Constitutional Court in 1977 said life imprisonment without the possibility of parole is unconstitutional as a violation of human dignity (and the Rechtsstaat principle). Today, a prisoner serving a life term can be granted parole on good behavior as early as 15 years after being incarcerated, provided that his release is held to constitute little danger to the public. Note that persons deemed still dangerous can be incarcerated indefinitely on a life term, if this judgment is regularly reaffirmed.

[64]

§ 14(3) of the , which would have allowed the Bundeswehr to shoot down airliners if they are used as weapons by terrorists, was declared unconstitutional mainly on the grounds of human dignity: killing a small number of innocent people to save a large number cannot be legalized since it treats dignity as if it were a measurable and limited quantity.

Luftsicherheitsgesetz

A advertisement showing human buttocks with an "H.I.V. positive" stamp was declared a violation of human dignity by some courts, but in the end found legal.[65][66]

Benetton

The first German law legalizing in 1975 was declared unconstitutional because the court held that embryos had human dignity.[67] A new law on abortion was developed in the 1990s. This law makes all abortions de jure illegal, except if preceded by counseling (§ 219(1) of the German criminal code).

abortion

In a decision from 1981, the declared that peep shows violated the human dignity of the performer, regardless of their feelings. The decision was later revised. Peep shows where the performer cannot see the persons who are watching them remain prohibited as a matter of dignity.

German Federal Administrative Court

El Bernoussi, Zaynab (2014). . International Sociology. 30 (4): 367–382. doi:10.1177/0268580914537848. S2CID 220723176.

"The postcolonial politics of dignity: From the 1956 Suez nationalization to the 2011 Revolution in Egypt"

Andorno, Roberto. . Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, 2009, 34(3):223–240.

"Human dignity and human rights as a common ground for a global bioethics"

Saccà, Luigi. "A Biophilosophical Model of Human Dignity: The Argument from Development in a Four-Dimensionalist Perspective". International Journal of Applied Philosophy, 2013, 27(2):175–194. :10.5840/ijap20131221

doi

Folot, Eric. "Human Dignity (Part 1): Its Critics" and http://www.legavox.fr/blog/ethos/dignite-humaine-partie-detracteurs-12702.htm

https://ssrn.com/abstract=2354171

De la dignité humaine, Paris, Quadrige/PUF, 1995, 2nd ed. in 2002 (Award "La Bruyère" of the Académie française, 1996).

Thomas De Koninck

"Protecting Human Dignity in Research Involving Humans", Journal of Academic Ethics, vol. 7, issue 1–2, 2009, pp. 17–25.

Thomas De Koninck

Pele, Antonio. (in Spanish) Universitas. Revista de filosofía, derecho y política (Spain), Nº. 1, 2004 2005, pp. 9–13.

Una aproximación al concepto de dignidad humana

Piechowiak, Marek. Plato's Conception of Justice and the Question of Human Dignity. Berlin: Peter Lang, 2019; second edition, revised and extended, Berlin: Peter Lang 2021. :10.3726/b18092.

doi

Sweet, William. . 'Whose Dignity is it Anyway? Lecture presented as part of the 'Breakfast on the Hill' series, Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Canada, May 2007.

[1]

Dignity Spiritualwiki

Dilley, Stephen and Nathan Palpant (eds.), Human Dignity in Bioethics. From Worldviews to the Public Square. New York: Routledge, 2013.

[2]

Spiegel, Alix: , Radio Feature about dignity therapy, an end-of-life treatment created Harvey Chochinov, NPR, 12. September 2011.

For The Dying, A Chance To Rewrite Life

Salehi, Hamid Reza. "Human Dignity From the Viewpoint of Iranian Law", Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, Volume 10, Issue 2, June 2013, 135–136. :10.1007/s11673-013-9437-8.

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