Universal Consciousness of Human Dignity

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78973-821-620191002
Date18 November 2019
Pages17-26
Published date18 November 2019
AuthorHoda Mahmoudi
Chapter 1
Universal Consciousness of
Human Dignity
Hoda Mahmoudi
Introduction
Human dignity is receiving much attention in scholarship and the media. As a
widely discussed concept, it concerns how social relationships and structures treat
or mistreat, honor or humiliate the individual. Explored through the lens of a
wide range of disciplines, the meaning of dignity has been conveyed as respect,
choice, agency, rights, freedom, personal dignity, honor, self-respect, and as a
status not belonging solely to the elite. The attention paid and aspiration to better
understand human dignity are indicators of the importance of this concept in a
rapidly changing and fragile contemporary society.
As ongoing processes of globalization evolve, succession of social problems
are making their impact at the international level rather than being conned
to local or regional sectors. Among the social ills reflecting this trend are
the globalization of the capitalist economic system, the ever-widening economic
gap, and large international migrations stemming from violent conicts, unem-
ployment, and poverty. The rapidly changing world is unable to socially regulate
itself. Yet, at the same time, it has become apparent that humanity as a whole
now represents a highly interdependent global society in which a greater aware-
ness has emerged about the signicance of human dignity.
The aim of this chapter is to explore human dignity as a fundamental prerequi-
site for the advancement of the emerging global community. From the standpoint
of the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace, human dignity is an essential component of
the achievement of the equality of all peoples and the development of processes
that will lead to a more peaceful world.
Presented in three sections, the chapter will rst consider human dignity’s
place in a post-Westphalian world, where exclusive sovereign statehood has
shifted toward a disaggregated state as a consequence of the dynamic force of
globalization (McGrew, 2011). In this context, the connection between human
Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Human Dignity and Human Rights, 17–26
Copyright © 2020 by Emerald Publishing Limited
All rights of reproduction in any form reserved
doi:10.1108/978-1-78973-821-620191002

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