Abstract
After reviewing the pertinent philosophical and psychoanalytic writings on the concept of dignity, this paper proposes three categories of dignity. Conceptualized as phenomenological clusters, heuristic viewpoints, and levels of abstraction, these include (i) metaphysical dignity which extends the concept of dignity beyond the human species to all that exists in this world, (ii) existential dignity which applies to human beings alone and rests upon their inherent capacity for moral transcendence, and (iii) characterological dignity which applies more to some human beings than others since they possess a certain set of personality traits that are developmentally derived. The paper discusses the pros and cons of each category and acknowledges the limitations of such classification. It also discusses the multiple ways in which these concepts impact upon clinical work and concludes with some remarks on the relationship of dignity to choice, narcissism, and suicide.
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Notes
Silberer originated the term “anagogic interpretation” for a mode of decoding symbolism that brings out its universal “transcendent” and ethical dimension. Unlike the customary psychoanalytic tendency to decipher symbols along personal and sexual lines, anagogic (Greek for “to bear upwards”) interpretations elevate the concrete into the spiritual.
Generally speaking, the three Middle Eastern religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) have a hierarchy whereby God, angels, prophets, and man—all, and in that order—exist above animals. Eastern religions (e.g. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism) do not subscribe to such a view. Their God resides everywhere and can exist within human beings as well as within animals. As a result, they ascribe greater dignity to animals.
The PEP Archive (Psychoanalytic Electronic Publishing Archive) (1871–2008) (http://www.pp-web.org) contains the complete text of 46 premier journals in psychoanalysis, 70 classic psychoanalytic books, and the full text and editorial notes of the 24 volumes of Freud’s Standard Edition as well as the 18 volume original German Gesammelte Werke. PEP Archive spans over 137 publication years and contains the full text of articles whose source ranges from 1871 through 2008. There are approximately 75,000 articles and 8728 figures that originally resided on 1449 volumes with a total of over 650,000 printed pages.
Although Shabad uses the expression “spite” throughout his paper, righteous opposition to assaults upon one’s dignity need not be termed as such. Rosa Parks (1913–2005) refusal to yield her seat to someone only because of their being white did not have a spiteful quality. It was a gesture of robust self-assertion to maintain her dignity.
For details on how contact with one’s own dignity opens one’s heart and eyes to the dignity of all creation, see the October 2008 Special Issue of Soka Gakkai International Quarterly: A Buddhist Forum for Peace, Culture, and Education (Ikeda, 2008).
A Buddhist friend of mine responded to this statement by saying that why should these things not have dignity? The mosquito and the sewage pump are doing what they are required to do. And, the broken shoe-lace is like a great poet who has had a stroke. Simply because he is no longer able to write poetry, do we withdraw our respect for him?
The word “profane” is derived from the Latin profamus, itself comprised of “pro” (before) and “famus” (temple). In other words, “profane” means something that has to be left outside of the temple.
An admittedly inelegant translation is “Don’t change clothes in front of the mirror; images of your nudity would linger in it long afterwards.”
The word “gratification” has been unduly maligned in psychoanalytic discourse. One reason for this is the lack of distinction in many analyst’s minds between the satisfying prohibited and unrealistic id wishes versus meeting developmentally appropriate ego needs (see Akhtar, 1999, for a detailed discussion of the need-wish distinction).
See Lax (2008) for what she calls the “indignities” of getting really old.
A Yiddish expression, mensch, denotes an honest, courageous, reliable, and strong man.
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1Salman Akhtar, M.D., is Professor of Psychiatry at Jefferson Medical College, and Training and Supervising Analyst at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia.
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Akhtar, S. Some psychoanalytic reflections on the concept of dignity. Am J Psychoanal 75, 244–266 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1057/ajp.2015.37
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/ajp.2015.37