Let us begin with a description of what dignity
means according to the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia:
Dignity is a term used in moral, ethical, legal, and political discussions to signify that a
being has an innate right to be valued and receive ethical treatment. It is an
extension of the Enlightenment-era concepts of inherent, inalienable rights. Dignity is often used in proscriptive
and cautionary ways: for example in politics it is usually used to critique the
treatment of oppressed and vulnerable groups and
peoples, but it has also been extended to apply to cultures and sub-cultures,
religious beliefs and ideals, animals used for food or research, and plants.
Dignity also has descriptive meanings pertaining to human worth, although there
is no exact or agreed upon definition of this worth. In general, the term has
various functions and meanings depending on how the term is used and on the
context.
Though dignity has long been used
in conjunction with protecting vulnerable human groups, it is now used in
discussions for other species as well.
Dignity, then, as used in the Unitarian Universalist First Principle,
pertains to “beings” and their inherent right to be valued and to receive
ethical treatment. To have dignity does
not prescribe how each is to be treated, and what precise actions are moral or
ethical, only that the vulnerable group merits moral attention because of their
presence on this earth, and that individuals’ needs matter.
For humans, we might more easily
see the dignity of those species more closely related to us, and who are more
intelligent and social, including other primates, cetaceans, and smart and
social birds such as crows and parrots.
Upon closer reflection, though, we can see how each species and
individual evolved to exist in a particular time, place, and ecological niche,
and that this placement is one that calls us to deeply respect the forces of
nature that gave birth to such wonder and intricate relationships.Each
individual portrays their deep embeddedness in a shared evolutionary path, and
though this path may become crowded with the needs of the many, each occupies
their place with dignity. We know not
where the road may take us all, but we do know that we journey together.
Rev. LoraKim Joyner, DVM
First Principle Project Facilitator
