What is Truth? Human Dignity

We are talking about the Authentic Self. What is the Authentic Self? I tell my students that if we study the development of humankind over the ages, there seems to be, in general, a trend. We seem to be moving toward a sense of unity and equality, at least philosophically. That is, even within the previous two centuries humankind has seen a movement from concepts like slavery and degradation to ideals that seek to recognize the equal Dignity of all humankind. My students give me case study after case study of examples in the news to the contrary, and they are right; humans are pretty rotten to each other right now. But, I explain to them, if we look at larger scales of time in our history, it seems that we are moving toward a more universal vision of what human dignity means. There are more social justice organizations now than even in the history of the world, and there seems to be more people willing to devote their life to the cause of human Dignity. I suggest to my students that this movement toward equal dignity might be considered as a sign of our Authentic Self. The claim that all humans possess equal dignity and that dignity should be recognized as part of what we can call the authentic self and a full and healthy society. It is important to note that the Authentic Self and a full and healthy society are connected in some way. If equal dignity is a goal for which all humanity should strive, it is equally reasonable to claim that all humans, from the beginning, have possessed that equal dignity, whatever “equal dignity” might mean. If we claim that all humans throughout all time have possessed equal dignity, though it may not have been recognized, it is rational to claim that dignity is a Truth that exists outside of time and space. Equal Dignity is a Reality or a Truth regardless of opinion or personal ideology. This is why I don’t try to prove the reality of objective Truth being superior to subjective Truth; I have only had a few students in my career who have argued that some humans, inherently, have more Dignity than others. But that argument is easily dismissed when I ask them if they are referring to whether some humans actually have less dignity or if they simply are living their life or are being treated as if they have less dignity. I do not allow students to say that anyone is ever stripped of their dignity! I emphatically teach that all humans are equal in dignity, but it is an oppression and subjugation strategy to tell others they have less or more dignity. Dignity is an eternal and objective Truth. Dignity, then, is part of the Authentic Self of the human person and is a fundamental and objective concept that can be discerned by observing the history of humankind in the pursuit of human dignity. That means, we can look at the material history of humankind and we can see ourselves striving to recognize our Authentic Self.

Our Lady of Springs Catholic Church in French Lick, Indiana (P. Smith)