X

How human dignity is valued and preserved within the academic sphere?

Dignity, Potential, and Uniqueness of Each Students

Dignitas, Latin for “intrinsic worth” or dignity is not only used as a guiding principle for human rights (ex. Article 1 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights) but used to balance with other fundamental liberties and rights such as academic freedom and freedom of scientific research.  For instance, although academic freedom includes the right to seek, discover, and assert important truths, they need to adhere to the human right to equality of status or equally treat all human beings regardless of their performance, intellectual capacity and achievement .

For one the chief conditions of human dignity according to the literature is human possessions and achievements, academic freedom normally places the value of rational and scientifically acquired truth about the world, man, and his works at the core and recognizes the obligation to teach and act in a manner that constitutes dignity, maintain and protect the order in which academic activities are performed effectively. Secondary schools, for instance, are often concerned in providing equal educational opportunities for all students regardless of race, social class, gender, or ability. Universities, on the other hand, are higher educational institutions known for advancing human dignity through a type of education, nurturing liberal ideals such as critical thinking, moral reasoning, ethical responsibility and duties towards others. Since academic institutions commonly recognize that students have different backgrounds (i.e. ethnicity, race, etc. ), sexual orientations, political, religious, and educational beliefs and learning needs, measurements of students academic and personal achievement are often done in an environment of respect and justice.

In relation to scientific freedom, the freedom to research is limited by the recognition that human dignity is inviolable, respectable, and must be protected from harmful experimental research, such as those disclosing genetic abnormalities, altering human genome, implanting computer in the brain, or administering drugs that can enhance or destroy human memory. Note that the 1997 Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights urged UNESCO to take actions regarding the consequences biological and genetics studies and emphasized the need to respect human dignity and prohibit discrimination based on genetic characteristics.


You may be interested in:


At school, respect and care for the rights or dignity are not only applied to human, but to non-human or animal subjects. Similar to a human being with inherent moral dignity and basic rights, treatment of animal subjects is also justified on moral grounds thus science experiments must respect the animal’s dignity. For instance, regardless of improvement in their well-being, schools should not encourage or allow their students to conduct genetic alteration or any experiments that would inhibit animals from performing their normal functions.

Preserving Human Dignity in Academic Setting

Educational institutions are mostly aware of students’ rights and developed policies reflecting a range of intended educational, spiritual, social, and moral outcomes. A Catholic school in one study, for instance, intends to create a school environment where there are respect and trust, and policies that value and support each student and staff. Aside from quality education, the school is set out to create an enjoyable atmosphere in which everyone’s dignity is acknowledged, nurtured, and protected.

Through social, moral, physical, spiritual activities, and recognizing and celebrating students’ achievements, other schools hoped to encourage all students to strive for academic excellence and enhance their dignity as a person. Some catholic schools, according to the study, are focused on social justice, common good, and community service  and developing their students to become responsible member of society by carrying out economic and social activities promoting equality and justice, helping the poor, and  the recognition of dignity and worth of  our brothers and sisters around the world.

Categories: blog
J.K. Garcia: <strong>Name:</strong> J.K. Garcia <strong>Education:</strong> University of California San Diego (UCSD) <strong>Current occupation:</strong> Senior editor for PrivateWriting.com, academic writer, and education blogger with more than 170 published articles. <strong>Recent works:</strong> “Full List of the Most Trending Argumentative Essay Topics”, “Descriptive Essay: A Closer Look at Descriptive Essay Writing”, “Definition Essay: A Powerful Guide to Writing an Excellent Paper”, “12 Steps to Writing a Research Proposal”, “The Contribution of Academic Institution in Children’s Well-Being”, “Home Schooling is an Ideal Way to Obtain Quality Education”, “Download Sites Violate Copyright Rules”, “Bullets in Victim’s Head: Hate Crime or Parking Space”, “Scholarly Articles Broaden the Student’s Outlook”, “Commemorating Pi on 3/14/15”, “Honesty is Sometimes Not the Best Policy”, “What Education Do You Need to Become a Master Chef?” Hobbies: Scuba diving, sphynx cats, European football, fine arts. <strong>About me:</strong> I work full-time as a senior content editor for an education platform Private Writing. As a freelancer, I contribute to blogs and online magazines in the fields I’m interested in, which include sports, arts, education, and animals, to name a few. My writing skills are diverse and engaging, giving me an opportunity to write in different styles and genres. I have put on several roles as a writer, from a guest blogger to an editor in chief for an academic writing company. Today it feels like the role of a senior editor suits me the best giving me an opportunity to work and supervise many talented writers enabling them to grow as professionals. My biggest accomplishments as a writer are to always go through with my assignments until the end and giving out 110% of what I’ve got until the final result lives up to the expectations. This one time a colleague of mine, a novice writer with a huge potential in academic writing, approached me for a piece of advice on how to be a better author. This gave me a huge boost of inspiration to be a better mentor for my fellow writers and be a more accomplished author when it comes to my own writing. I’m a native English speaker, also well-versed in Spanish and French, which are both my second languages thanks to my father’s ancestors being half Mexican and French. I read a lot of books and blogs to keep my skills on point. I’m a strong believer in the theory that the English language is an ever-evolving organism that changes every minute. So to keep up with the changes it’s necessary to read a lot in order to be up to speed.