Three Readings on Dignity

Subramaniam Vincent is director of journalism and media ethics at the Markkula Center of Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. Views are his own.

Human dignity is a widely cherished ideal and value in our society today, despite the many fault lines. When used in communication, human dignity has more framing power than is generally acknowledged. For instance, it can help a communicator expand the listening window when discussing societal challenges such as disparities and injustices. 

Human dignity also has connections to other critical values (and rights) such as privacy and free speech. But the meaning and scope of application of the term in the context of rights varies between countries, depending on many other factors. 

Here are three reading references for you that offer useful context and learning about dignity and its significance.

1.  On when to use dignity as a cherished and widely held super-value for framing: 

In the video article, Lead with the Value of Dignity: Explain the Frame, the FrameWorks Institute, a non-profit organization that uses communications research to help reframe social issues, shows how to use dignity as a key framing value to help communicate about disparities. Taking up the challenging example of how to communicate about disparities without people tuning out, FrameWorks says: 

“Starting with Statistics can lead people to tune out, and worse, sharing data about disparities without context on where those disparities came from can leave space for people to rely on harmful stereotypes and to blame individuals for systemic problems that can be really damaging if the topic itself is stigmatized or sensationalized.” 

FrameWorks recommends leading with a values-based message by expressing a cherished ideal or principle. “When we express a value early in a communication, it shapes how people respond to the ideas that follow.” In their research they found that using the value of dignity is both powerful and effective. 

On YouTube: 

Talking about Disparities with a "Dignity" Frame (Explain the Frame: Ep. 1

Also from FrameWorks: 

Framing Fundamentals: What is framing and why it matters. 

2.  On the limits of framing: Comparing the difference between dignity as a value and human rights. 

In using the word dignity to derive or justify human rights, things do get complicated. The Oxford University Comparative Law Forum article, The Enemy from Within: A Theoretical and Comparative Analysis of Human Dignity as a Free Speech Justification,  goes deep into the relationship between freedom of speech and human dignity in both America and Europe. It explores the conflicts between human dignity and free speech and how different countries resolve it in their legal systems. “Human dignity may be used as a justification for both protecting speech and restricting it,” says the author. 

While you may not feel the legal analysis is of interest or use to you, this article is still useful context about how philosophers have warned of the risk of conflation between interests, values, and rights. “Framing a free speech justification in human dignity terms leads to such a possible confusion, so the connection between freedom of expression and human dignity (or equality) may be construed as legitimizing the limitation of speech. This confusion may be avoided by keeping human dignity and free speech doctrinally separate.”

The Enemy from Within: A Theoretical and Comparative Analysis of Human Dignity as a Free Speech Justification

3.  Privacy and Dignity. 

In our 21st century digital and data-footprinted surveillance society, few values rise to the level of significance as privacy. And privacy is one of the societal conditions that supports human dignity, says Irina Raicu, Director of Internet Ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. Raicu says that “privacy is often imperfect, but always important, and it needs to be protected." 

She grew up in Romania, at a time when the Communist government was using mass surveillance against its citizens. Raicu says in this article that privacy plays a role in autonomy, creativity, and intimacy, and in democratic governance. It has a role in the balancing of power between entities.  

Read more in her brief article: On Privacy, Vulnerability & Linguistic Creativity - Markkula Center for Applied Ethics