Dignity as honour-wound: An experiential and relational view

Galvin, Kathleen; Todres, Les

Abstract

© 2014 The Authors. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. In this paper, we draw on a phenomenological-philosophical foundation to clarify the meaning of dignity as a coherent phenomenon. Consistent with an evocation of its central meanings, we then introduce and delineate seven kinds of dignity that are intertwined and interrelated. We illustrate how these kinds of dignity can provide a useful template to think about its qualities, its 'rupture' and its 'restoration' in human life, particularly in relation to health and social care contexts. We then consider the implications of these relational and experiential views for current debates about the notion of dignity: Is dignity a useless concept? Is dignity objective or subjective? What are the useful ways of characterizing different varieties of dignity? We conclude by pointing to a metaphor that may hold the sense and meaning of our deepest human dignity: The gathering of both value and vulnerability, in which human value does not depend on the eradication of human vulnerability, but occurs within its very context.

Citation

Galvin, K., & Todres, L. (2015). Dignity as honour-wound: An experiential and relational view. Journal of evaluation in clinical practice, 21(3), 410-418. https://doi.org/10.1111/jep.12278

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 22, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Oct 23, 2014
• Publication Date: 2015-06
• Deposit Date: Dec 15, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 23, 2017
• Journal: Journal of evaluation in clinical practice
• Print ISSN: 1356-1294
• Electronic ISSN: 1365-2753
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 410-418
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jep.12278
• Keywords: Caring, Caring science, Dignity, Ethics of care, Existential theory, Health, Heidegger, Martin, 1889-1976, Husserl, Edmund, 1859-1938, Lifeworld, Medical humanities, Phenomenology, Philosophy, Wellbeing
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/382716
• Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jep.12278/full
• Additional Information: Copy of article first published in: Journal of evaluation in clinical practice, 2015, v.21, issue 3