We explain what dignity is and the different meanings of this term. Also, some examples and phrases about dignity.
What is dignity?
Dignity is a complex concept. On the one hand, we understand by it an intrinsic value of the human being, which no one grants him but possesses for the mere fact of being, for being born, for being provided with rationality and Liberty, without distinction of sex, race, religion, sexual orientation or other conditions.
This human dignity goes hand in hand with the human rights universal, that is, with those minimum conditions of existence that all human beings automatically deserve and that are not subject to debate or discussion by any court.
This, of course, has not always been fulfilled and is a product of human modernity, since in the past there were laws allowed by slaves, people devoid of this ontological dignity ("of being").
However, there is another meaning of dignity that is related to honor, honor, pride, that is, to belonging (real, symbolic or imaginary) to a group human that deserves and demands the I respect of others. This notion comes from ancient times and was linked to the decisions made, with the fidelity to the ideals or to the divine mandates, for which it was decent to die rather than to retract or betray them.
Tragic heroes, for example, protagonists of ancient epics, were capable of sacrificing themselves to safeguard honor, which was equivalent to "dying with dignity" instead of living "dishonorably." This concept was later universalized by Christianity, whose philosophy gave sin a conception more or less similar to ancient dishonor, with the difference that it could not be "cleaned" with the death (As Japanese culture did until recently, through ritual suicide or harakiri) but would torment the soul on its way to the afterlife (hell, purgatory, or paradise).
Today, however, thanks to the Humanism and the philosophical schools of the Modern era and Contemporary, the dignity of the human being is understood as something much more secular (secular) and linked to the conditions in which he lives his life. Ways to live involve a series of concepts objectives and subjective, such as freedom, autonomy, belonging, identity, full rights and self-determination.
Examples of dignity
Human dignity can be evidenced in various settings and attitudes. For example:
- It is said of a person who has dignity when he values himself above the needs of the moment or the demands of others. In this case it can be considered synonymous with integrity or honor.
- It is said that a person lives with dignity when he can provide himself with the satisfaction of his needs without the need to plead with others, submit to someone else's designs or perform acts contrary to his morals in order to survive.
- Commonly, it can be considered a dignified attitude to respect others: take into consideration their rights, their worth, as well as your own. An unworthy person can be someone who does not respect himself or herself or who does not respect others, or both.
- It is also said that a worthy person is one who honors the compromises acquired, who does not take refuge in lies or evasion so as not to face their responsibilities.
Phrases about dignity
- "Dignity does not consist in having honors, but in deserving them."
Aristotle (Greek philosopher, 384-322 BC). - "Where is the dignity unless there is honesty?"
Marco Tulio Cicero (Roman philosopher, 106-43 BC) - "Through lies, man annihilates his dignity as a man."
Immanuel Kant (Prussian philosopher, 1724-1804). - "The dignity of human nature requires that we face the storms of life."
Mahatma Gandhi (Indian politician, 1869-1948). - "Only morality in our actions can give life beauty and dignity."
Albert Einstein (German-Jewish Physicist, 1879-1955). - "The day our dignity will be fully restored,
it is the day that our purpose ceases to be to survive until the sun rises the next morning ”.
Thabo Mbeki (South African politician, 1942-). - "When we speak of human dignity, we cannot make concessions."
Angela Merkel (German politician, 1954-).