The first point that needs to be made here is that no person can have
human dignity who deprives another of their dignity, or lessens their dignity.
This makes the situation different to the situation of human rights,
where one person may deprive another of human rights that the first still has - for
instance, one may deprive another of freedom by a crime of kidnapping or
abduction, and yet still maintain - even if only temporarily - the freedom of
movement and association that they have deprived the other of.
To look at that instance from the point of view of human dignity, the
person unwillingly deprived of the human right of freedom is also deprived of a
portion of their inherent human dignity, as they are not able to be all that
they can be, but so too is the criminal also a lesser person for having
deprived another of their dignity.
In this sense, then, dignity is not “just” about respect, as the
criminal may still receive respect if their crime is secret, but they are a
less dignified human being.
This example also shows that what are considered human rights are a
part of human dignity, and the United Nations Universals Declaration of Human
Rights is probably still the best starting point for that, but human dignity
goes beyond that, and beyond the measure others hold us in (i.e., respect) to something that is inherent. (And, for what it is worth, is also held by
many other lifeforms, but that is a topic for some other post.)
Wikipedia
[2] says
- more or less - that dignity is
about the right to be valued; I say it is more, and is about one’s values. The
Wikipedia definition begins with the following:
Moral,
ethical, legal, and political discussions use the concept of dignity to express
the idea that a being has an innate right to be valued and to receive ethical
treatment. In the modern context dignity can function as an extension of the
Enlightenment-era concepts of inherent, inalienable rights. English-speakers
often use the word "dignity" in proscriptive and cautionary ways: for
example in politics it is usually[citation needed] 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, to
animals used for food or research, and to plants. "Dignity" also has
descriptive meanings pertaining to human worth, although there is no exact or
agreed-upon definition of this worth. In general, the term has various
functions and meanings depending on how the term is used and on the context.
The
English word "dignity", attested from the early 13th century, comes
from Latin dignitas (worthiness) by way of French dignité. In ordinary modern
usage it 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, and
scientific commentators, such as those arguing against genetic research and
algeny, cite dignity as a reason but are ambiguous about its application.
The online Oxford Dictionary says dignity is “The
state or quality of being worthy of honour or respect” (and is also about high position in society - which I have completely
discounted from my considerations of this matter :) ). That is closer to
the mark, but doesn’t say what the basis for respect or honour is. I propose
that the basis is:
- never lessening another’s dignity;
- actively promoting human
dignity;
- never acting in
contravention of others’ human rights;
- actively respecting and
promoting human rights;
- seeking to be all that they
can be, and to ensure that others also have the opportunity to choose to be all
that they can be, if they wish to freely choose that; and
- living in accordance with
the principles of Balanced Positivity.
My definition is obviously biased towards my values, but if you take
the last point off the list, I consider the list is pretty reasonable as a
starting point for considering this topic.
Now, if we look at the loss of dignity, Wikipedia
is more useful, perhaps:
Human dignity can be violated in multiple ways. The main
categories of violations are:
Humiliation
Instrumentalization or objectification
Degradation
Dehumanization
Some
of the practices that violate human dignity include torture, rape, social
exclusion, labour exploitation, bonded labour and slavery.
Both
absolute and relative poverty are violations of human dignity, although they
also have other significant dimensions, such as social injustice. Involuntary
poverty is unusual among violations of human dignity because it is usually the
result of acts of omission rather than acts of commission. Absolute poverty is
associated with overt exploitation and connected to humiliation (e.g., being
forced to eat food from other people's garbage), but being dependent upon
others to stay alive is a violation of dignity even in the absence of more
direct violations. Relative poverty, on the other hand, is a violation because
the cumulative experience of not being able to afford the same clothes,
entertainment, social events, education, or other features of typical life in
that society results in subtle humiliation, social rejection, and
marginalization and consequently diminished self-respect.
All of this contravene the principles of Balanced Positivity, so my
reason for including that is perhaps clearer …
Another way of putting this, perhaps, is that a loss of dignity is
caused if mental or emotional harm is deliberately inflicted by another person.
Harm could occur as a result of natural catastrophes, disease, etc, but I don’t
see that as causing a loss of dignity - which suggests that dignity is a matter
of human interactions and relations. That is, action, not just state of being.
So … human dignity:
is the
inherently cumulative holistic combination of human rights, wellbeing and
potential, and all actions or interaction which promote, realise or facilitate
same. The converse also applies: whatever
degrades, diminishes or robs humans of dignity, is inherently
undignified.
Of course, exactly what constitutes things like wellbeing and potential
can be argued, but I would rely on the Philosophy of Balanced Positivity to
assess that. (Incidentally, free will is a fundamental human right, in my view.)
Let’s consider a few examples.
If someone is a troll, then, irrespective of whether or not they
succeed in upsetting someone, they are intentionally attacking another person’s
wellbeing, and thus intentionally attacking that person’s dignity, and thus unintentionally
robbing themselves of their dignity.
If someone is on the receiving end of, say, abusive tweets and doesn’t
criticise them, or argues against implementing human rights, or perhaps argues –
as my nation’s Attorney-General did recently – that “people have the right to
be bigots”, you are belittling other people’s potential: their potential to be
better human beings, people who interact more constructively and thus have more
inherent dignity. So ... not taking action means you lose some of your human dignity,
along with the idiot(s) who directly did the wrong action. (There does come a point, however, when one has to look after one’s
own wellbeing, so endlessly, automatically calling out all wrongdoing could
lead to a loss of dignity through robing oneself of one’s wellbeing, rather
than taking a more measured, balanced approach to “doing good”. This is a lesson I have had to learn the hard way.)
It is also possible for work – non-exploitative, properly recompensed,
meaningful work – to be a source of dignity. On the other hand, someone who
pushes people into exploitative or poorly paid work, is actively acting against
human dignity – and thus robbing themselves of some of theirs.
Now all we need is for a good philosopher, someone like Brendan Myers
perhaps, to take my rough scribble and transform it into something that is
elegantly worded … SIGH – dream on woman, dream on …
[1]
BPLF = Balanced Positive
(spiritual) Light Forces. See here and here for more on this.
Love, light, hugs and blessings
My "blogiography" (list of all posts and guide as to how to best use this site) is here, and my glossary/index is here.
- One
size does NOT fit all.
- Don't
be mediocre - seek to excel.
- Gnwmythr's
Stropping Strap: Occam's Razor only works if the simplest solution is actually
recognised as being the simplest, rather than the one that best fits one's
bigotries being labelled 'simplest'.
- Our
entire life experience, with all the many wondrous and varied people,
places and events in it, is too small a sample for statistical reliability
about Life.
- May
the world of commerce and business be recognised to be a servant, not a
master, of the lives of people.
- Ban
the dream interpretation industry!
- A
home is for living in, not feeling, becoming or being rich or a “better”
class than others.
- Being
accustomed to interacting via certain rules makes those rules neither
right nor universal.
- Like
fire to the physical, emotions to the soul make a good servant, and a bad
master.
- Expertise
at intimacy and emotional happiness is generally not the same thing as
spiritual growth.
- Any
person, male or female, who has neither a serious health issue, dependents
nor an agreement about study. yet expects their partner to work to support
them, is, spiritually speaking, little more than a parasite.
- The
means shape the end.
- BPLF
restraint of uncooperatives is NOT an opportunity for revenge or getting
even - even unconsciously.
- As
words can kill, the right to freedom of speech comes with a DUTY to be as
well-informed, objective and balanced as you can be.
- My
favourite action movie of all time is "Gandhi",
although I've recently come across "Invictus"
and might put that one in to that category. However, I
loathe the stereotypical action movie - and, for similar reasons, I loathe
many dramas, which are often emotionally
violent, more so in some cases than many war films.
- All
of the above - and this blog - could be wrong, or subject to context,
perspective, or state of spiritual evolution ...
Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be
stronger [people].
John F. Kennedy (who was
quoting 19th Century Episcopal Bishop Phillips Brooks)
Jesus loves you. Odin wants you to grow up.
We make our decisions. And then our
decisions turn around and make us.
F.W. Boreham
Females, get over 'cute'. Get competent.
Get trained. Get capable. Get over 'cute'. And those of you who are called
Patty and Debby and Suzy, get over that. Because we use those names to
infantalise females – we keep females in their 'little girl' state by the names
we use for them. Get over it. If you want to be taken seriously, get serious.
Jane Elliott
The only thing necessary for the triumph of
evil is for good [people] to do nothing.
(based on
writing by) Edmund Burke
The significant problems we face cannot be
solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.
Albert Einstein
We didn't inherit the Earth from our
ancestors, we only borrowed it from our children
Antoine De Saint-Exupéry
Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the
personality and eats away its vital unity.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
True compassion is more than flinging a
coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an
edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Too much and too long, we seem to have
surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation
of material things. Our gross national product ... if we should judge America
by that -- counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to
clear our highways of carnage. ... Yet the gross national product does not allow
for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of
their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our
marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public
officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor
our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it
measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile."
Robert F. Kennedy 1968
There are risks and costs to a program of
action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of
comfortable inaction.
John F. Kennedy
If we could change ourselves, the
tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so
does the attitude of the world change towards him. … We need not wait to see
what others do. (Often degraded to “Be
the change you want to see in the world” – see here)
Gandhi
Tags: about me, action, dignity, human rights, inaction, interactions,
First published: Thorsdagr, 16th October, 2014
Last edited (excluding fixing typo's and other minor matters): Thursday, 12th October, 2014
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