Meaning & Definition of Dignity (Concept / What is)
What is Dignity?
The word comes from "worthy" and Latin "dignus", interpreted as "valuable" is written. Itself dignity can mean several things. In general we can say that dignity is a quality that comes with a title or position. For example the dignity of an Ambassador or a Bishop, giving to understand that they are relevant or important people. Also
indicates a high degree of excellence applied under the same
conditions: "the dignity of a priest" or "a place of great dignity". Another
application is when we refer to that someone deserves what happens to
him: "a punishment of the magnitude of the indignity of the crime
committed" or "food worthy of the dignity of a King".
These are most common references to dignity but in philosophy the term
dignity goes a little further: has to do with human autonomy, with their
condition of being free and rational. It is very wide and is very much related to the term "human essence". Let
me explain: what makes humans human is the essence, the greatest thing
that the human being can have is their dignity and the essence of the
human being is given the dignity. Do complicated? Not
so much, what are trying to say is that our identity as people or
humans is the greatest thing we have and that we call it dignity. Dignity makes us different from other beings (together with the essence) and puts us in a position "above them". It
is based on the fact that we can make decisions (autonomy), without
impediment (freedom) and give an explanation to these decisions
(rationality).
From the philosophical point of view, a good way to understand the
dignity is like the right to treatment appropriate, ethical and respect,
innate, i.e., "we won us" this right by the mere fact of having been
born as humans. While this may seem
obvious, it is not historically, and we owe the concept and its
application to the thinkers of the Renaissance, where for example we can
mention the famous "speech about the dignity of man", by Pico della
Mirandola in 1485. Perhaps it would be
more accurate to say that the idea is present in a clear manner during
the Renaissance, but it is reflected in a practical manner as in period
of history known as the Enlightenment, where through an appreciation of
the use of reason to give order to our lives, seriously considered the
rights of the people, respect and autonomy.
Dignity has also been subject to different applications, it is not a
well-defined concept, which can be given to different interpretations; for
example in the medical field, that the most recent advances have led to
all kinds of ethical discussions, the term has been used both by those
who vogan for or against a particular intervention or procedure. This
concept is also central, as now you have realized, what are human
rights, and indeed dignity form part of the concepts involved in the
Declaration of the United Nations in this regard.