Predictors of Attitudes Towards Human Dignity: An Empirical Analysis Among Youth in Germany

Abstract

Historically, the dominant understanding of human dignity was contingent, by which we mean that, according to this view, dignity was regarded as depending on a person’s social position or behaviour. A loss of social rank or immoral behaviour meant that it was possible to lose one’s dignity. However, since the time of the enlightenment, an understanding of dignity arose which claimed that dignity should be regarded as something inherent to all human beings; by its very nature, this inherent dignity could not be lost. Although there exists some controversy in both philosophy and law about the content and scope of what is meant by “dignity”, various declarations in human rights charters and constitutions refer to human dignity as the foundation of rights. This paper explores three different dimensions of dignity. Empirically, the authors will examine how German adolescents (N=2175) evaluate these types of dignity and we will discuss which predictors are significant. The general assumption is that different understandings of dignity exist among German youth and that religious belief, the ability to be empathic and sensitive, social class affiliation and socialization are all predictors of attitudes towards dignity. The analysis shows that empathy and religious belief are the strongest predictors.