What is Dignity
Although we no longer consider the most common definition of dignity to be up to date, we do not want to withhold it from you. Dignity is usually defined as follows: Dignity is the right of a person to be respected and valued for his or her own sake and to be treated ethically. Dignity plays a role in moral debate, ethics, jurisprudence and politics as a continuation of Enlightenment concepts that see dignity as an inherent and inalienable right. The term can equally be used to describe personal behaviour.
So much for today’s standard description of the concept of dignity. If this were sufficient, this website would not exist.
Why this Website?
Dignity is something we don’t think much about. We assume that it is something that comes with being human, even though we know from thousands of examples in history that dignity is also something that can be lost pretty damn quickly.
This website aims to uphold the value of dignity and remind us that we must constantly rethink and evaluate dignity. Do we live with dignity, are we treated with dignity, do we treat others and ourselves with dignity?
The 1st article of the German constitution says:
Die Würde des Menschen ist unantastbar.
english: Human Dignity is inviolable
Is that really the case? We can all certainly remember moments and experiences in which people’s dignity has been violated. And these are reason enough to talk and write about dignity from all possible perspectives, involving not only humanity but the entire planet.
