Human Dignity: The Perspective of a Gynaecological Oncologist

Abstract

When I was first asked to give a 20-minute talk to a colloquium at the University of Tasmania on the topic of Human Dignity, I was initially somewhat ambivalent! On the one hand, I felt certain it would be a very interesting meeting, but on the other hand, I wondered what I would have to contribute, being much more pragmatic than philosophical. I was told there would be a wide range of disciplines represented, and that it was my professional experience, rather than any background in philosophy, that I was expected to bring to the meeting. Feeling appropriately reassured, I then had to start to think more seriously about the subject. Human Dignity is a term we bandy about frequently in medical circles, but what do we really mean? I remembered reading a chapter entitled, ‘The Dignity of Man’ by a German Professor of Philosophy, Franz Josef Wetz in a recent anatomy book. In this chapter, Wetz indicates that to the ancient Greeks and Romans, dignity was considered to be the result of individual achievement and social recognition. A dignified person observed the correct moderation, and lived according to reason. The Roman philosopher and politician Cicero was the first to espouse the idea of innate human dignity, but it was Christianity that saw his ideas generally accepted. In this concept, human dignity was based on the biblical God creating human beings in His Own image. As God’s special creation, humans were accorded an absolute value, as a result of which they differed from all other creatures. Hence, human dignity was an essential characteristic, possessed by each of us, regardless of our origins or lifestyle. It must be respected by every individual and all social institutions, up to the State itself. In today’s secular, pluralistic society, Christian beliefs have become incomprehensible for many people. Many are no longer willing to accept human superiority over the animal and plant world, so the concept of innate human dignity based on our being created in God’s image, cannot exist.