Historical and philosophical analysis of the problem of the formation of human dignity

Kozlova Irina Viktorovna Researcher of the FNSC RAS 117292, Russia, Moskva, g. Moscow, ul. Krzhizhanovskogo, 24/35k5, kab. 417 iraangarskaya@mail.ru

In connection with the globalization of the modern world, the ideas of social categories, including the category of human dignity, are being reconstructed. This concept has a supranational meaning in the intercultural space. The UN Millennium Declaration (2000) states that among many human values, human dignity remains the main value. All heads of State bear a collective responsibility to their people for affirming the principles of human dignity in the global world. This article provides a historical and philosophical analysis of the category of "human dignity", traces the historical connection of philosophical views with the modern understanding of this category.

The concept of human dignity has always existed in the history of human development, in relation to it, to its place and significance in any society, one can form an idea of the cultural formation of civilizations. Dignity is a natural and necessary component of human life. The whole history of the development of spiritual and material culture is the process of unfolding and enriching the category of dignity.

The very idea of human dignity appears in the era of Antiquity, in the Middle Ages it also receives its development, in Modern times it is formed as a categorical unit. In the XVII-XIX centuries, the category of dignity was already fixed in the human rights system, and after the Second World War it received legislative formalization in international law documents.

In the Ancient philosophy of Socrates, dignity is understood in the absence of fear of any difficulty, in the improvement of one's personal qualities, individual moral effort through one's mind. The well-known saying of Socrates is directly related to dignity, since self-knowledge of oneself and one's capabilities is the foundation on which human dignity is built.

Plato tells us that dignity consists of three foundations: beauty – goodness – truth, this is a qualitative characteristic not only of the human essence, but also of phenomena and things. According to Plato, the essence of man is understood in the ability to think in unity with the idea of the Good, this means moderation in passions and being a virtuous person.

Aristotle's work "Nicomachean Ethics" contains a detailed analysis of the human virtues that make up the category of dignity. According to the philosopher, the dignity of the individual is based primarily on good moral education and is associated with the concept of pride. Since Aristotle defines virtues as a measure, a "golden mean" between two excessive passions, self-esteem and self-esteem act as a reflection in a situation of moral choice between self-exaltation (pride) and humiliation ^[1].  

Another ancient philosopher Epicurus, connects the category of dignity with peace of mind and equanimity, such a state the philosopher calls ataraxia and apathy, and every person and especially a wise man should strive for it. Ataraxia is a prerequisite for achieving happiness and consists in the gradual eradication of fears of death, gods and all incomprehensible phenomena in nature. Human dignity is manifested in the limitation of their needs and moderation in enjoyment. Apathy means immunity to all kinds of suffering and experiences. In ancient times, apathy was considered one of the conditions for achieving happiness.  Seneca considered it correct to translate the Greek word "apathy" as "invulnerable soul" or "soul inaccessible to any suffering" ^[5]. The state of dispassion was provided by studies in philosophy, exercises in virtue, consolation, and the like.

The scholastic theories of the Middle Ages primarily carried the idea of God. Many philosophers – theologians (Gregory Palamas, Thomas Aquinas, Augustine the Blessed) wrote that in order to gain dignity, a person needs to strive for salvation, and for this you need to thoroughly study the Holy Scriptures and build your life according to its dogmas. According to the theological philosophy of St. Augustine, dignity is an attribute of God, the philosopher opposes the dignity of God, the sense of human dignity, which is conditioned by unfree will and pride. In the search for a solution to the problem of free will in actions and intentions, there is a way to awaken human dignity.

The ideas of human dignity in the Renaissance were based on medieval ideas about man as a creation of God. In this historical period, the concept of human dignity becomes the central idea of humanism, this ideology considers the place of man in the world from the perspective of the development of his dignity.  

In the works of J. Manetti, the problem of human dignity is deeply studied.  In his opinion, the dignity of a person is in debt to the moral Absolute. In this era, the work of P.D. Mirandola "Speech about human dignity" was of great importance. The main idea of the work is the problem of building one's own self, where dignity and freedom of choice turn out to be the main values. Man rises above other living beings precisely in the ability to cultivate dignity, and this, in turn, is associated with the understanding and comprehension of eternal values, the meaning of life and wisdom.

Rene Descartes, speaking about human dignity, highlights individual moral choice as its basis, a person should follow rational self-knowledge based on the principles of prudence.

B. Spinoza also writes about the moral power of human dignity, it is a necessary condition for self–fulfillment, a person can develop his dignity thanks to a special moral power - intellectual love for God.

The theories of human dignity of I. Kant and G. Hegel gained great popularity in the XVIII century. According to Kant, dignity is understood as the reasonable possession of a moral law that elevates a person above himself. It is from the reasonableness of a person that dignity arises, which elevates a person as a person. 

I.G. Fichte in his work "On the dignity of man" writes that it is based on self-knowledge and volitional self-determination. He highlights the concept of the "absolute spiritual Self", which calls a person to incessant and active activity.  I.G. Fichte's philosophical views on human dignity are based on individualization, whereas Kant. I. connects dignity with the universality of the moral law.

Hegel G.V.F. refers to the category of human dignity in "Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion". According to the philosopher, a person acquires dignity when, thanks to his will, he subordinates the natural spirit and his behavior begins to correspond to the divine, moral law.

In modern times, philosophical arguments about the dignity of man were present in Marxism, utilitarianism, philosophy of life, existentialism.   The theory of Marxism saw the problem of the formation of human dignity in the capitalist system, according to Marxists, in such a society only capital has freedom and independence, and an active individual is not free by himself^[4].

Nietzsche F. speaking about the dignity of a person, he defines it as the level of a superman, which consisted in the ability to cope with his passions and all other conditioning forces (natural laws, morality, the influence of society).

According to the philosophy of the British philosopher J. S. Mill, human dignity is considered as the development of personal individuality, while a person should be aware of himself as the most important element of his rights and social welfare.

G. Spencer and C. Darwin also highlight the social basis in the understanding of human dignity.

M. Scheller writes about love as the basis for the formation of human dignity, in his opinion, love determines the existence of a person, is the main meaning of life, a person is a "loving being" whose life world is organized according to the levels of love.

In the arguments about human dignity, A. Camus says that a person should strive to the best of his abilities, dignity is defined as the search for a "middle man" who is between a "rebellious" and "absurd" person.

In Russian philosophy, the study of the problem of the formation of human dignity is associated with the names of A.I. Herzen, P.Ya. Chaadaev, V.S. Solovyov, and subsequently with the philosophers of the Silver Age, such as I.A. Ilyin and N.A. Berdyaev.

According to the philosophy of the unity of B.C.Solovyov's human dignity is understood as a moral vocation and the highest human purpose, it is formed through self-knowledge and morality, through man's knowledge of God.

According to A.I. Herzen, the highest moral human dignity manifests itself in a combination of social and personal in a person's life and actions, his famous thesis "A person is recognized as a person as much as he recognizes himself as a person."

P.Ya. Chaadaev sees human dignity in the shackles of generally accepted social norms that dictate to a person how to live and deprive him of solving problems that arise independently. He emphasizes that habits and "skills of consciousness" are so ingrained in people's minds that a person does not even think about whether he is acting on his own will.

N.A. Berdyaev's personalistic philosophy puts human dignity at the forefront, the philosopher identifies personality and dignity. A person must get rid of sinful plantings and external social dependence, a person can achieve enlightenment through creativity, he denies V.S. Solovyov's theory of Unity, since it deprives a person of independence and freedom through divine determination.

I.A. Ilyin, speaking about human dignity, emphasizes the mandatory desire of the individual for individualization and isolation: "The individualization of instinct is an inevitable phenomenon, corresponding to the laws of human nature and creatively precious: it is impossible and it is not appropriate for a person to remain in generic all-mixing and undifferentiation, he must find himself in his instinct, assert himself and begin to create his own life independently" ^[2].

Modern domestic research summarizing philosophical ideas in the field of the formation of human dignity are the scientific works of S.A. Sharakshane and V.V. Kuznetsov.

S.A. Sharakshane notes that despite the fact that the category of dignity is found in the scientific works of many philosophers from Antiquity to the present day, the problem remains that this category does not stand out as an independent one, it is dissolved in the teachings of virtues, has not become the subject of specialized philosophical reflection and is contextual.

V.V. Kuznetsov in his study "Dignity as a moral value" analyzed the Russian tradition in the understanding of human dignity. According to V.V. Kuznetsov, Russia is in a crisis situation after the collapse of the USSR, the old values no longer exist, the new ones are still poorly formed. It is human dignity, connected with Russian traditional Orthodox values, that should be the basis for the revival of Russia" ^[3]. Individualistic values, which were a characteristic feature of the transition period, led to the fact that public morality was distorted. In Russian culture, human dignity has always been understood as service to the social, superpersonal principle.

Modern foreign researchers (G.Kelman, Y. Habermas, J. Kateb, D. Pullman, T.A.F. Kelly) consider human dignity in the unity of the social, subjective-personal and anthropological.

German philosopher and sociologist Yu . Habermas defines that human life, even in such forms as IVF and cloning, has dignity in itself and requires respect. According to Habermas, dignity presupposes the quality of a full–fledged existence, which is based on self–esteem - self-perception - self-reflection and understanding of self-significance, and this is the dignity of a person.

Thus, "human dignity" as a philosophical category that reveals a person's attitude to himself, to other people and to the world as a whole, has changed its content throughout the history of mankind, but it should still be noted that over the centuries general trends in the understanding of this category have also been preserved (self-knowledge, self-determination, the formation of one's own "I"). In general, human dignity is a complex, multi-valued, multi-level philosophical category based on the idea of the inner moral value of a person. It can be said that in the modern understanding, dignity is a person's awareness of his value, spiritual, cultural and social significance, and an important component of the formation of dignity is demanding of himself, his behavior and actions, which should correspond to the idea of human dignity.