The Science of Dignity: Measuring Personhood and Well-Being in the United States
The Science of Dignity: Measuring Personhood and Well-Being in the United States
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Abstract
This book provides original evidence arguing for dignity as an indicator of public health by offering a scientific framework for measuring dignity and its social determinants. Like happiness or love, dignity is valued by individuals but difficult to define. Across centuries of philosophical thought and decades of social science research, dignity involves how individuals and societies relate in a way that preserves and nurtures both, a veritable bedrock of democracy. The book shows that dignity can be efficiently measured by using simple survey items that ask individuals whether there is “dignity” in their life or in how they are treated by others. It finds that unhappiness, sadness, anger, and lower general health are far more common for those reporting undignified lives. “Dignity threat” affected 21.5% of Americans in 2021, representing more than a 50% increase from 2017. Across America, differences in dignity come from inequalities in social and economic resources and from experiences of disrespect, threat, and life stress—and from mastery, mattering, and meaning. Social groups with less power generally report lower levels of dignity linked to these multifaceted resource and stress inequalities. Individuals disadvantaged by race, gender, age, or disability suffer from greater indignity, and a four-year college education delineates profound resource divides in America. Polarization itself, in terms of perceived threat from other social groups, is linked to indignity. Even amid diverse moralities, however, dignity demonstrates wide value in America. By foregrounding life’s sanctity, dignity provides a scientific basis for collective consensus and social inspiration.
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Front Matter
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Introduction
More Than a Feeling: Dignity and Health Inequalities in America
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1
A Wide-Ranging Tour of Perspectives on Dignity
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2
Seeing Circles: Dignity as a Public Health Issue
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3
Beyond Reason: Finding Dignity in Social Relations
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4
American Capitalism and Its Multifaceted Links to Dignity
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5
Measuring Dignity Subjectively: Methodology for 2017 and 2021 Gallup Data
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6
Dignity as an Efficient Indicator of Social and Moral Integration
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7
Is a Dignified Life a Healthier Life?
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8
A Resource-Based Framework for Analyzing Levels of Dignity
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9
Inequality and Stress: Charting Dignity during Social Adversity
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10
One Polarized Nation: Dignity across Political Ideologies
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Conclusion
Moving Forward: Dignity’s Role in Collective Consensus and Social Inspiration
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End Matter
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