Identity & Dignity: How Walking Away Paralyzed from Abuse paved my Path of Soul-Discovery

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A philosopher of the Renaissance, Pico della Mirandola, granted dignity to ideas and to beings. In his " Oration on the Dignity of Man", he told hostile clerics about the dignity of the liberal arts and about the dignity and the glory of angels. His comments implied the dignity of philosophers. [16] This oration is commonly seen as one of the central texts of the Renaissance, intimately tied with the growth of humanist philosophies. [17] [18] Kant [ edit ] Pullella, Philip (2022-02-06). "Pope says female genital mutilation affronts dignity, must end". Reuters . Retrieved 2022-10-08. Alive is a Bristol-based charity dedicated to improving the quality of life for older people in care through meaningful activity. The activities offer opportunities to residents, including those with dementia, to share elements of their life histories and to explore their personal identity, knowledge and skills through creative activity and shared interaction with others. ‘We enable older people to shape the content and direction of Alive sessions, which include the use of new technology, guided reminiscence, creative, energising and physical activities.’ Residents also tried to ease assistant nurses’ working situation by being jovial to help them thrive at work. The observations showed their desire to unburden assistant nurses by being willing to wait if necessary. No observations showed assistant nurses initiating or encouraging conversations about residents’ fear of being a burden.

None of the residents mentioned how they wanted to be remembered, and they were not observed being active with life projects, i.e., journaling. Sulmasy DP. Death and human dignity. Linacre Q. 1994;61:27–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/20508549.1999.11878278Suffering from illness, disability, and old age may lead to a wide range of existential, spiritual, and psychosocial concerns, while experiencing dignity seems to mitigate suffering in end-of-life illness and death [ 29]. Nevertheless, respecting dignity might be a challenge because it is not explicitly clear what this requires in clinical practice. Does the service have, and keep under review, a clear vision and a set of values that includes a person-centred culture, involvement, compassion, dignity, independence, respect, equality, wellbeing and safety? How do leaders make sure these are effectively embedded into practice? Do all staff understand and promote them?

Andorno R. The dual role of human dignity in bioethics. Med Health Care Philos. 2013;16:967–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-011-9373-5 According to residents’ narratives, important dignity-conserving abilities came from within themselves. Dignity-conserving interventions did occur, such as emphatic listening and bodily care, performed in respect for residents’ preferences. However, no strategies for future crises or preparing for death were observed. To protect residents’ dignity, NHs must apply a palliative care approach to provide holistic care that comprises attention to personal, bodily, social, spiritual, and psychological needs to increase well-being and prevent suffering. A philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment (18th century), Immanuel Kant held that there were things that should not be discussed in terms of value, and that these things could be said to have dignity. ' Value' is necessarily relative, because the value of something depends on a particular observer's judgment of that thing. Things that are not relative–that are "ends in themselves", in Kant's terminology–are by extension beyond all value, and a thing is an end in itself only if it has a moral dimension; if it represents a choice between right and wrong. In Kant's words: " Morality, and humanity as capable of it, is that which alone has dignity." [19] Specifically with respect to human dignity, which his writings brought from relative obscurity in Western philosophy into a focal point for philosophers, Kant held that "free will" is essential; human dignity is related to human agency, the ability of humans to choose their own actions. [20] Mortimer Adler and Alan Gewirth [ edit ]Human dignity can be violated in multiple ways. The main categories of violations are: [9] Humiliation Violations of human dignity in terms of humiliation refer to acts that humiliate or diminish the self-worth of a person or a group. Acts of humiliation are context dependent but we normally have an intuitive understanding where such a violation occurs. As Schachter noted, "it has been generally assumed that a violation of human dignity can be recognized even if the abstract term cannot be defined. 'I know it when I see it even if I cannot tell you what it is'". [10] More generally, etymology of the word "humiliation" has a universal characteristic in the sense that in all languages the word involves "downward spatial orientation" in which "something or someone is pushed down and forcefully held there". [11] This approach is common in judicial decisions where judges refer to violations of human dignity as injuries to people's self-worth or their self-esteem. [12] Instrumentalization or objectification This aspect refers to treating a person as an instrument or as means to achieve some other goal. This approach builds on Immanuel Kant's moral imperative stipulating that we should treat people as ends or goals in themselves, namely as having ultimate moral worth which should not be instrumentalized. Degradation Violations of human dignity as degradation refer to acts that degrade the value of human beings. These are acts that, even if done by consent, convey a message that diminishes the importance or value of all human beings. They consist of practices and acts that modern society generally considers unacceptable for human beings, regardless of whether subjective humiliation is involved, such as selling oneself to slavery, or when a state authority deliberately puts prisoners in inhuman living conditions. Dehumanization These are acts that strip a person or a group of their human characteristics. It may involve describing or treating them as animals or as a lower type of human beings. This has occurred in genocides such as the Holocaust and in Rwanda where the minority were compared to insects. Examples [ edit ]