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Author:   Peter Bieri (Freie Universität Berlin, Germany) ,  Diana Siclovan
Publisher:   John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Imprint:   Polity Press
ISBN:  

9781509570102

ISBN 10:   1509570101
Pages:   300
Publication Date:   05 September 2025
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  College/higher education ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   In Print  
Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Dignity as a way of living 1. Dignity as autonomy Being a subject Being an end in itself Slaughterhouses What if it is voluntary? Humiliation as demonstrated powerlessness Escaping to an inner fortress Having rights Being patronized Caring paternalism Respect for alterity and conviction Dependence: asking and begging Begging for feelings Inner autonomy: thought Inner autonomy: wanting and deciding Inner autonomy: emotions Inner autonomy: self-image and censorship Humiliation through serfdom Autonomy through self-knowledge Needing therapy Dignity through work Money 2. Dignity as encounter When subjects encounter each other Commitment and distancing Recognition Equal rights Putting someone on display Sex objects Human commodity Neglect Talk to me! Laughing at someone Denying explanation Manipulation Deception Seduction Overpowering Working with a therapist No pity, thank you! Encounters between autonomous individuals Leaving an open future to the other Dignified partings 3. Dignity as respect for intimacy The dual need for intimacy Feeling the other’s gaze What is a defect? The logic of shame Shame as humiliation Dignity as conquered shame The intimate space The innermost zone Dignified disclosures Undignified disclosures Shared intimacy Betrayed intimacy as lost dignity A challenge: Intimacy as a lack of courage 4. Dignity as truthfulness Lying to others Lying to oneself Honesty and its limits Calling things by their proper name Saving one’s face Bullshit 5. Dignity as self-respect Dignity through limits Fluid self-images Destroying self-respect Sacrificing self-respect Breaking self-respect Responsibility for oneself 6. Dignity as moral integrity Moral autonomy Moral dignity Dignity in guilt and forgiveness Punishment: Development instead of destruction Absolute moral boundaries? 7. Dignity as a sense for what matters Meaning of life One’s own voice Equanimity as a sense of proportion The view from the end 8. Dignity as the acceptance of finitude When others lose themselves Escape Losing oneself: Resistance Losing oneself: Accepting the journey into darkness Dying Letting someone die Ending one’s life Responsibility towards the dead References & Further Reading

Reviews

""An elegant and subtle exploration of dignity and what it means to lose it."" Nigel Warburton, author of A Little History of Philosophy ""Human Dignity shows a rich and insightful exploration of the idea of human dignity from various angles and at several levels. Bieri carefully distinguishes dignity from other similar looking but really quite different concepts and deals with such important questions as how to live and die with dignity. This is an important book."" Bhikhu Parekh, House of Lords ""An important and beautiful book, thoroughly worth reading."" Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

Author Information

Peter Bieri was born in Bern in 1944. He studied philosophy and classical philology and was Professor of philosophy at Bielefeld, Marburg and the Freie Universität Berlin.

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