Dignity is the quality that belongs to a human being by virtue of which the person deserves to be acted towards with humanity. The term has often been used within moral and ethical discourse and philosophy in order to justify a correct way of acting towards men and women within society, as well as to consider what standards of behaviour are suitable for a person to merit dignified treatment. Dignity is then closely related to ethical concepts of virtue, respect, autonomy and human rights. A common moral interpretation of dignity is the independence from selfish desires or, in the classical terminology, the passions, and guidance by enlightened reason.

Dignity and Diplomacy

Through much of the 20^th Century, Dignity appeared in assorted writings as a reason for peacemaking and for promoting human rights. For example, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948, speaks in its preamble of "the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family." Later proclamations speak of Dignity in the same way. The American Convention on Human Rights (1969), art. 11(1), proclaims, "Everyone has the right to have his honor respected and his dignity recognized." The African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (1981), art. 5, insists, "Every individual shall have the right to the respect of the dignity inherent in a human being."

In the latter half of the 20^th century, Dignity became a reason to curtail genetic research and to regulate human reproduction. In 1996, the Council of Europe used Dignity for this purpose in its Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine. In 1998, the United Nations mentioned Dignity in the UNESCO Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights. At Article 24, the Declaration says that germ-line treatment "could be contrary to human dignity." The Commentary which accompanies the Declaration says that, as a consequence of the possibility of germ-line treatment, "it is the very dignity of the human race which is at stake."

At the beginning of the 21^st Century, Dignity was a reason to curtail human rights and to foment strife. Clergy and laity invoked Dignity to explain their agreement with the anti-human-rights resolutions that were being approved by the United Nations. Those resolutions bid all nations to impose legal sanctions upon blasphemy (defamation of religion) and upon all conduct that a religious person might find offensive.^[1] One archbishop favored legal sanctions because, he said, it is "the manipulation and defamation of religion which threatens human dignity, rights, peace and security."^[2] One law professor hoped "the law against defamation of religions may be constructed in a way that does not abridge legitimate speech including artistic freedom and yet protects the dignity of religion."^[3]

Dignity and Philosophy

Pico Della Mirandola and the "Oration on the Dignity of Man"

[Pico Della Mirandola]] exposited an idea of dignity in the "Oration on the Dignity of Man" that is based on a Neo-Platonist framework of man's role in the universe. Since man occupies the highest place in the chain of being in comparison with other creatures, he has the unique ability to learn from all the other entities in the universe. This confers man free-will as he is able to choose actions based upon the knowledge that he can acquire. It is this ability to act with moral autonomy due to man's unique place in the universe by which humanity can have dignity.

Kant and the Dignity of Reasonable Beings

Dignity for Kant is possible because of man's ability to use their faculty of reasoning. Since man is able to apprehend a priori the basis for the morality of his actions he is able to have autonomy for his actions. This autonomy he defines "as the property of the will by which it is a law to itself." The supreme moral law that man sets for himself as a moral being is Kant's well-known categorical imperative. This has several formulations one of which is "act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law." A second formulation is ?So act that you use humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, always at the same time as an end, never merely as a means."

The reasoning ability of man, especially in the first formulation, allows man to act morally because they are able to consider their fellow men equally as reasoning creatures. It is this ability to determine the law autonomously through man's reasoning facility which confers him dignity. This quality is one, however, which is essentially shared among a community of humanity as it requires a consideration of a common reasoning facility and the collective desired ends on that basis. The Kantian interpretation of dignity and morality is one of the key foundations for contemporary theories of human rights.

References

1. ↑ G.A. Res. 60/150; U.N. Doc. A/Res/60/150; G.A. Res. 61/164; U.N. Doc. A/Res/61/164; G.A. Res. 62/154; U.N. Doc. A/Res/62/154.
2. ↑ Archbishop Defends Religious Freedom to U.N. Council 2006-07-14.
3. ↑ Liaquat Ali Khan, 'Combating Defamation of Religions' 1 January 2007.

See also

• Human rights
• Indignation
• Righteous indignation
• Pride
• Self-esteem
• Self-concept
• Self-respect

Footnotes

References

1. Dignity, article from educational site Parenting For Everyone
2. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy \ Respect

External links

• Aldergrove on Dignity (231 kb ? 30 seconds by dial-up)
• 'The Stupidity of Dignity' by Steven Pinker

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