The dignity of all exploited creatures
The title of this essays was written by Kelsey Zazanis in a letter she wrote to me.
The first time I took part in ayahuasca ceremony, in a room full of people vomiting and crying out as they faced their worst traumas and deepest fears, I watched as the ceremony facilitators guided those who needed assistance getting up and walking through the dark to the bathroom. In the ceremony, if you needed assistance, you would shine a red flashlight on yourself, and someone would come. If what you needed was to get up and walk, to get another dose of medicine, or to get to the bathroom, someone would walk with you, holding a red light by their side.
I was in my own medicine experience. I saw these interactions and was flooded with recognition. When people are vomiting, when they need to use the bathroom, when they are unable to control or repress their bodily, animal needs, or when they are otherwise vulnerable, we have a choice. We can choose to ignore the need and look elsewhere. We can choose to humiliate and degrade the person in their need. Or we can protect their dignity, by acknowledging that all people have needs and experience vulnerability, and helping the person. As I watched the ceremony facilitators walk in dignity with people in deep vulnerability, I recognized that this is some of the most fundamental and important work that we can be doing.
The dictionary defines dignity as “the state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect” but as usual, dictionary definitions do not do justice to the full weight of the way words are used. Wikipedia actually has the definition of dignity as I understand it: “the right of a person to be valued and respected for their own sake, and to be treated ethically.” These two concepts are inextricably tied together because it isn’t possible to treat someone ethically without first recognizing their personhood, and their right to be valued and respected for their own sake.
We treat someone with dignity when we truly see them, for who they are, in their own unique specificity and irreplaceability, and in their own unique context. We don’t see them as interchangeable with others who are similar to them. We don’t see them as less than ourselves even though they are different from ourselves. We feel called to protect their vulnerability because we understand that we want our own vulnerability protected. When we truly see someone this way, we behave in a way that honours and demonstrates respect for their personhood. If we do not see someone’s personhood we won’t act ethically toward them.
In order to truly understand dignity and what it means to treat someone with dignity, I want to break down the components of dignity as I understand them.
Recognition of personhood. Understanding that this person is an “I” with their own interests, desires, boundaries, preferences, fears, etc. They are as real as you are.
Recognition of equality. Understanding that we are not superior to others and no one is superior to us. Understanding that personhood includes an inherent right to be treated and valued as an equal. All personhood has equal value.
Recognition of complexity. Understanding that this person is complex and multifaceted, that there is much more to them than you know, and that they can’t be reduced to simple stereotypes or treated as interchangeable with those “like” them. Understanding that everyone has layers to who they are, some of which are species based, some culture based, some based on other collective experiences, some based on this person’s unique lived experiences and unique temperament. We all have a huge amount of complexity within us.
Recognition of irreplaceability and preciousness. Think about what it would feel like to know you are about to die, and think about how desperately you want to protect your life. Your life is not interchangeable with another life. It is the only one you have. It is irreplaceable and precious. This is true for everyone else as well. When we fail to see the irreplaceability and preciousness of each being, we are cut off from reality and we are dissociating from what is most important.
Recognition and protection of vulnerability. Treating vulnerability with care, concern, and protection rather than humiliation, degradation, or an opportunity to attack. Treating vulnerability with respect. Ensuring needs are met, including the need for privacy, when someone is in a state of vulnerability.
Recognition and respect of difference. There are countless ways to be a person. When we assume everyone is very similar to us, we can fail to see extremely important aspects of other people’s personhood because they are different from our own. This also means that treating people with dignity means learning about them, or at the very least, knowing that you don’t know. Part of treating someone with dignity is to allow them to express their full personhood, and allowing who they are to be as different from you as they happen to be.
Recognition of freedom, autonomy, agency, and sovereignty. No one should be forcibly controlling anyone else (expect in cases where doing so is necessary to protect others from violence, but even then, we must be very careful with using force to override another person’s agency). There is no dignity in being locked in a cage. Every person wants freedom. Every person has the inherent right to their agency and sovereignty.
It seems to me that these are the basic components of dignity. We all know what it is like to be treated with dignity, and we all know what it is like when we are not treated with dignity. Some of us are chronically denied recognition of our dignity and are systematically treated without regard to our personhood. I believe it is an inherent responsibility to protect other people’s dignity, and, especially, to defend the dignity of those who are chronically denied recognition of their personhood.
Some examples of people whose dignity is profoundly under attack: Palestinians and every person being subjected to violent attacks from militaries. Indigenous people whose dehumanization is required to justify colonialism. Everyone subjected to racism. Everyone subjected to misogyny. People living in impoverished neighbourhoods who can’t get work or access their basic needs. Everyone who is denied access to healthcare, housing, water, or food. Nonhuman animals, especially those being tortured in factory farms, research facilities, zoos, circuses, and other institutions that treat nonhuman people as objects. Children, especially abused children and institutionalized children. Incest survivors get a special mention here because it is such a profound violation of dignity. Elders, especially abused elders and institutionalized elders. Disabled people, especially abused and institutionalized disabled people. Prisoners and those incarcerated inside psychiatric facilities. Homeless people, street involved people, addicts, drug users, and “crazy” people. Scapegoats of any kind, whether that be within an abusive family system, a cancellation campaign, or any context in which someone’s personhood is replaced with a symbolic function. Everyone who has been subjected to violence of any kind, especially sexual violence. This is an incomplete list.
Everyone’s dignity must be recognized and protected. There is no one whose dignity does not matter. There is no one who we are entitled to treat without dignity. There is nothing that entitles us to violate another person’s dignity, including if that person has violated someone else’s dignity. All of my work is about recognizing and protected the dignity of those who are most denied dignity. I will defend the dignity of anyone who is denied recognition of their full personhood.
Brilliant. The philosophy I needed many, many years ago. On a semi-related note you would love the work of Carol Adams. Yes, everything eats and gets eaten. Yes, violence exists in nature. No, it doesn't have to look like this. We can meet the needs required for sustaining the cycle of life while also maintaining fierce respect for the dignity of all lives.
Excellent, and crucial.