​​What is Inherent Moral Worth or Human Dignity?

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To have human dignity means to have equal, unearned moral worth. This means that no matter what we do, we don't have to earn it or prove we have it. 

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What is the Historical Context of Human Dignity?

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The concept of inherent worth echoes from across the world, from the east to the west, and is the basis for protecting human and/or animal rights. 

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The idea of humans possessing inherent worth is also referred to as human dignity and is prevalent in African philosophy. According to the book, Human Dignity in African Philosophy, A Very Short Introduction, "In light of the community interpretation of African ethics, or Ubuntu, it accounts for human dignity in terms of the human capacity for identity and solidarity, or, simply put, our capacity for friendliness (Molefe)."

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​Indigenous peoples (Native Americans) have believed that, according to Native American philosopher Fritz Detwiler, " Depending on the Indigenous culture, persons include animals, plants, lunar and solar phenomena, water, mountains, and in some cases, prayers, songs, glaciers, looms, and moccasins. In most traditions, persons share their power with others. Persons have inherent moral worth and are deserving of moral respect. The wording here is intentional. Moral worth is not an attribute of persons that can be separated from persons, and it is inherent in all beings (Rohr, Dave, Fritz Detwiler – “Native American Philosophy and Unified Knowledge” | Philosophy of Religion)."

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In Asian philosophy, namely Confucianism, every human is born with what is called supreme intrinsic value. Confucianism believes it is our duty to develop this potential to obtain acquired dignity (Li, Yaming).

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In Indian philosophy, according to a journal article titled A comparative study of Indian philosophical human values with western philosophy, "Indian philosophical traditions, which have their roots in antiquated books and scriptures, place a strong emphasis on the inherent value of each person and the interdependence of all living things (Bharadwaj, Akolkar, Azam)."

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In Western philosophy, we are pretty familiar with the idea of human dignity or inherent worth because of 18th century philosopher Immanuel Kant, Christianity (see next paragraph), and the Greek Stoics. Kant stated that we have inherent worth because of what he called our rational autonomy (Debes, Remy "Dignity").

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The idea of inherent worth is also prevalent in Middle Eastern philosophy/religion. In Judaism, according to Rabbi Sandra Lawson, "Kavod HaBriyot is a fundamental principle in Jewish ethics. It underscores the inherent worth and respect due to every human being simply because they are part of God’s creation (Lawson, "Breaking the Carousel of Fear and Misunderstanding"). In Islam, according to journal article titled Human Dignity from an Islamic Perspective: Concepts and Theoretical Base, "Despite the potential for individuals to regress below even the status of animals due to their evil actions, Islam upholds the inherent sanctity and honor accorded to human beings by mere virtue of their humanity (Baydar)." In Christianity, it is believed that we have inherent worth because we were made in God's image. Although Christians currently only make up around 4% of the Middle Eastern population, it is still a Middle Eastern religion (Johnson).

 

Where Does the Idea That We Have Inherent and Non-Inherent Worth Come From?

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As far as I understand, the concept that we have a dual moral nature is partly inspired from Confucianism, which implies that we aren't fully corruptible or fully innocent due to having both supreme (inherent) dignity and acquired dignity (non-inherent) (Li, Yaming). Our inherent worth is innocent because it is unearned, automatic, and uncontrollable and therefore morally non-corruptible, and our non-inherent worth is earned, controllable, and therefore morally corruptible (not inherently corrupt). Both are equal to each other.​​

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Why Do We Have Inherent Moral Worth?

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I believe we share equal inherent moral worth because we equally share an intuitive awareness of right from wrong or a moral sense of the right or wrong direction of our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. I believe that our moral sense of direction is unrestricted by reason and guides us toward understanding that we share equal moral potential when we use our reasoning ability to allow our moral intuition to guide our thoughts. The idea that our inherent worth comes from our moral intuition allows everyone, of all ages and intellectual abilities, to have a moral sense of direction. This sets the stage for the possibility of equal moral potential and the acceptance of our dual moral nature (non-discrimination). In this way, it doesn't matter how much reasoning ability we have, it's how we use it that makes us moral or immoral.​

 

I am not an Ethical Intuitionist because I don't believe moral truths can be solely known through intuitive knowledge (rational intuition). I believe we need both an intuitive awareness of right from wrong (or a moral sense of direction concerning our existence) combined with our knowledge (intuitive or not) and reasoning ability to be able to know moral truths. In other words, we can't know moral truths using our moral intuition, alone, and we can't know moral truths using our reasoning, alone. Moral duality is important. I don't believe our intuitive awareness is intuitive knowledge (it is a moral sense of direction only) or emotionally led. That's not to say our emotions or intuitive knowledge aren't important when it comes to learning what is moral.

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I'm not interested in moral sense theory, because it posits that our emotions guide our moral behaviors. I haven't been able to find a suitable moral theory that explains why we have equal moral potential.

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What is Our Non-Inherent Moral Worth?

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I believe that our non-inherent moral worth is our ability to reason, which allows us to earn respect for how well we choose to freely accept our human dignity or inherent moral worth. When we freely accept our equally shared inherent worth, we are using our non-inherent moral worth correctly.

 

What Does it Mean to 'Shine Your Light'?

 

I believe we shine our lights when we earn respect for our choice to freely accept our equally shared human dignity.

 

Why Does the Shine Your Light Co. Mission Matter?​

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Truly understanding that our dual moral nature (being and doing) helps us accept our infinitely good reason for existing. If we believe that the existence of some people matters more than others, then we will inevitably attack what makes us human or real, which is our dual moral nature. We would only be capable of perceiving each other as competition or as not worth existing at all. There would be no humanity. 

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Here's the thing, if we believe we are fully corruptible (and therefore corrupt at the core), we will not value our innocent moral nature when making moral decisions. It doesn't make sense to claim we are corrupt to the core because we couldn't know right from wrong without possessing an innocent moral nature. This could lead to hyper competitiveness, extreme paranoia about our self-worth, and a need to excessively blame ourselves and others, or to take on too much responsibility for what we do or for what happens to us. We may seek "freedom" from our fully corrupt nature by seeking salvation from someone else, therefore giving away our moral autonomy. On the other hand, if we believe that we are only innocent at the core, then we wouldn't have an ability to do what is right. This is because without a corruptible moral nature that allows us to do wrong, we would have no idea how to do what is right. Further, we would not value our corruptible or reasoning nature equal to our innocent or intuitive nature when making moral decisions. In this way, there could be a refusal to judge ourselves or others. This could lead to excessive feelings of victimization (judgement creates boundaries), a desire to never compete for anything, and an over-reliance on feelings concerning moral issues. ​

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Personally, I think this extremist thinking about our moral worth is a huge cause of a lot of our societal ills. A balanced perspective about our moral worth allows us to understand that there is a time to judge and a time to remain neutral, a time to blame and a time to praise, a time to resist and a time to accept, and so on. As far as I know, the idea that there is a time for everything seems to come from the Bible. See Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. I am sure it comes from other sources, too.

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How Do We Respectfully Communicate, based on the Idea We Have a Dual Moral Nature?

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We earn respect for each other when we choose to properly use our non-inherent, earned moral worth in order to freely accept our equally shared inherent moral worth. We don't have to respect or give credit to those who don't put in the work to earn our respect and vice versa. 

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I am creating my 7 Principles for Respectful Communication to help us properly use our non-inherent moral worth to freely accept our human dignity. Check them out here or navigate to the top of the page, select the tab 'Learn' from the menu and then from the drop-down menu select '7 Principles'. 

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Who Are the Principles for?

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Everyone.

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