Individual Worth...

[Melody_lane]

Individual Worth-the philosophy that everyone, regardless of personal circumstance and personal qualities, has worth and is entitled to respect as a human being.

How many believe in this one?

This was a topic I found rather interesting in my psychology class. I found the opinions of the class to be laughable(due to their hypocrisy)-so, I figured I'd entertain and see what you people thought.

 

[wolfy]

I totally believe that. Everyone is a person with feelings
and deserves respect. The only people I don't respect are
those who don't repect others if that makes any sense.
Everyone has their own viewpoint and most people seem to
believe that theirs is the only one that is right...well alot
of people at least. I think everyone is intitled to live their
life however they want as long as they arn't harming anyone
else

Ps. Sorry about the bad grammar/spelling melody

 

[Curious Guy]

Each and every individual is entitled to my respect until proven otherwise.

 

[Ezzy]

I do...

until they show me, they are not as humane as humans should be; at which point my respect for them may slip alittle.


EZ http://smilecwm.tripod.com/cwm2/sleep.gif

 

[Mustang Sally]

Interesting thread, Melody.

Everyone, regardless of personal circumstance and personal qualities, has worth and is entitled to respect as a human being.

My immediate reaction was to agree whole-heartedly. Absolutely, everyone is entitled to that respect. But the more I think about it, the more I see flaws with that statement. I'm probably going to sound like one of the hypocrites in your class, Melody, as I try to explain myself. But here goes.

I believe respect is something that must be earned. It is not a birthright. (Let's face it, human beings aren't an overall respectable species.) We are, however, given certain basic rights and freedoms as we enter this world. It is these rights, which vary by society, that must be respected above all else, not the individual person.

Let's take a murderer for example. Given his personal circumstances and qualities, I may not be able to respect him as a human being. But he is absolutely entitled to the same basic rights as everyone else in that society.

Ack, I haven't expressed myself very well. Maybe I didn't really understand the theory. Oh well. Just some thoughts.

~Sally

 

[wolfy]

Sure you did sally And thats basically what I was saying
I just didn't say it as well. If a person dosn't respect
others then he dosn't deserve repect him/herself. Prob is
sometimes there are good reasons for not respecting someone
and you don't know it....Ie that murderer might be getting
revenge for something really horrible. Would you respect a
man who killed someone who had raped his daughter? I would
and I don't think he should be put in jail either. So I guess
respect is a very personal choice and differs from person to
person. I wouldn't respect the rapist no matter what his
reasons where. But then again as someone else already said
he prob has proven himself to be less than human. Of course
If I really think about it i'm putting my own culture and
beliefs on this person. The rapist may be from a culture where
raping is normal....sounds horrible to me but in his mind he
may not have been doing anything wrong. So while I still
wouldn't respect him...the people he grew up with would.
I think that outlooks is just wrong tho wemon are people too.
I couldn't live with knowing about that culture without trying
to change it. This is a very hard question

 

[CreamyLady]

I will agree with the statement that respect must be earned -- to a point.

On the other hand, when I say that I respect my fellow humans, what I respect -- and honor in them -- is that basic humanity. We are built of the same ingredients, after all, and we share the same cycle of birth, growth, reproduction and death.

We have many of the same experiences, at one time or another, as well. I might react with more grace in one experience, and far less grace than someone else in another.

Are neither of us worth of respect, because we show a momentary weakness or a lack of grace?

No, I don't think so. As long as we remain human, and try to get through life the best we can, we are all worthy of respect.

 

[Cheri]

Yes every person on this planet has innate worth. This seems to be a yes or no question. Once you start putting qualifiers on worth you run the risk of allowing others with perhaps skewed judgement to add exclusions. I'm sure nobody here would feel comfortable with a KKK member rating the worth of an african american, right? Or a antisemite doing the same to a jew. It is precisely for those reasons that, at least in my own little mind, it has to be a blanket statement regardless of actions or anything else.

 

[Never]

Melody Lane:

Individual Worth-the philosophy that everyone, regardless of personal circumstance and personal qualities, has worth and is entitled to respect as a human being.

No, I don't believe individuals - people - have inherent worth or that they are 'entitled' to respect.

 

[Alyrahh]

I think every human begins their life with a certain amount of potential, if you will. I'm not sure if that translates into worth or not. What that person does or does not do with that potential indicates their worth to society. That's not to say that anyone who hasn't or isn't living to their potential should be discarded. They're still human, and life shouldn't be dispensed with.

Personally, I don't understand how worth and respect go hand in hand. For example, Dr. Smith is an excellent brain surgeon. He's saved many peoples lives. He's very good at what he does and most certainly has worth to society. But, in his free time he makes a habit of shoplifting from the local drugstore, and kicks puppies. He's not respectable as a human being. Perhaps some could find a small amount of respect for his professional self, but never for his private self. To me, though, respect is either all or nothing.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Didn't I read somewhere that somebody calculated the actual dollar value of the human body? That was awhile ago. Just did a search for it and couldn't find it. Anyways, the finding was that the sum of a body's parts (yes, bone, blood, hair, etc.) is worth $23.83. OK, I made that number up. But it was quite low. Anybody have any idea what I'm talking about?? I thought it was somehow relevant in a facetious kind of way... oh, nevermind.

Hey Melody, how are we doing?
What's your opinion on this?

 

[wolfy]

Alyrahh could I get this Dr. Smiths adress so I can get him
back for kicking those puppies? *grin*

 

[Never]

Mustang Sally..
Whoa girl, that's much too low. To you know how much a lung costs? 23,000. A heart? 41,000. An eyeball? 15,000.
I'm worth more sliced up on the black-market than I am alive.

Individuals are worthless, no one deserves respect.

 

[Whispersecret]

This probably won't come as a surprise to you who know me. Personally, I, Queen of Judging Others, do not believe that all people deserve respect. Like some of the others who responded here, I would like to think that when I meet a person they start out with my respect. I treat strangers with respect. From that neutral starting point a person can either go up or down in my respect. The idea that, regardless of action, honor, or character, all people are entitled to equal respect is ridiculous and dangerous. It's the current fanatic trend toward entitlement gone amok. The word "earn" is so often linked with "respect," for good reason.

Worth as a human being is, I think, an entirely different subject. When I think of worth, I think of individual contributions to family, community, country, society, etc. Obviously Jonas Salk has more worth than I do (unless I happen to miraculously do something more "worthy" than discover the polio vaccine.)

 

[Aranian]

No, I don't believe individuals - people - have inherent worth or that they are 'entitled' to respect.

It depends on what you consider to be "worth". From a strictly monetary standpoint, in my lifetime I'll likely earn in the neighborhood of 1.5 million. More if you include inflation. I'm worth something. =/

However, I grant respect on the basis of my assessment of a person's character, not their worth.

 

[Alyrahh]

Alyrahh could I get this Dr. Smiths adress so I can get him
back for kicking those puppies? *grin*

Just follow me wolfy. Synchronize watches, wear branches on our heads, and camouflage our faces with paint. We'll get that sumbitch!

 

[Cheri]

I'd like to respectfully point out that respect and worth are two different things and it's worth here we're talking about, not respect. And if everyone worth is dependent on their actions, who's going to be the judge of that worth? It doesn't sound as bad when it's a death sentence handed down to a crimial by a court of law, but it has more of an ominous ring when it's a gang of white racist killing a african american just cause he's black and has no worth as a human being.

 

[Never]

Nope.
None.
Nada.

Signed,
Never
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It is my feverant desire that you understand just how worthless you are.

 

[coaster]

You've broached a difficult subject Melody_lane. If we were to dissect the individual his tangible value or worth: heart, liver, corneas, etc...is undeniable. Is an individual's intangible value is linked to his contribution to society? Is it interpreted by someone who has unconditional capacities? In almost every subculture of humanity there is a value placed on everyone. Wheather or not one is worthy of respect is experientially determined.
I respect your opinions therefore you are worthy of my respect?

 

[Slut_boy]

Whisper, I can agree that not everybody is entitled to respect - but isn't ecerybody at least entitled to dignity?
They seem similar, but are different.It ties in with Melody_Jane's theme because it seems to me that if you can recognize that all have the right to their dignity then you are in fact acknowledging the intrinsic worth of human beings - this does, in my mind, form the foundation of all civil rights. It is the reason behind most civil rights - like the right to life, to education, to equality, freedom and liberty.

 

[forgetunome]

Originally posted by Melody_lane
This was a topic I found rather interesting in my psychology class. I found the opinions of the class to be laughable(due to their hypocrisy)-so, I figured I'd entertain and see what you people thought.

Why so you can laugh at me *sob*...Geez I gets no respect!

If someone proves themselves to be respectable then they will get my respect. Do I deserve the respect of others? No. Would I like to have it? Yes. I try to be respectable "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" you know...the Golden Rule. But, as a human I fail sometimes and if I have offended or hurt someone then I stand the chance of losing that persons respect. Do I like that? Probably not. Will I try to rectify it? Yes. If they won't forgive? I have to face that I can not always undo harm that I may have wittingly or unwittingly done and accept that I tried to make right and RESPECT that the injured party has a right to accept the peace offering or not. Life is hard enough without going around holding grudges.

I probably got off the beaten path but...oh well it wouldn't be the first time!