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In his magisterial Justice for Hedgehogs, the philosopher Ronald Dworkin introduces two principles that he regards as fundamental requisites for living well. They are, first, self-respect—taking “the objective importance” of one's own life seriously—and, second, authenticity— accepting responsibility for identifying “what counts as success” in one's life and for creating that life “through a coherent narrative or style that he himself endorses. Together the two principles offer a conception of human dignity: dignity requires self-respect and authenticity” (Dworkin 2011, pp. 203-204).
Though psychoanalysis is not one of his concerns, Dworkin incidentally suggests some of the ways in which dignity matters to psychoanalysts: our patients come to us often lacking self-respect, or engaged in behavior that damages it; seemingly unaware that this is their one life, to live and to make to the best of their ability; blaming others for what is their own responsibility, to the detriment of their capacity for autonomy; blind to the ways in which their dignity has been or is being compromised; aping the behavior of others, so not forging their own way of life and values; infringing the integrity of others. One of a psychoanalyst's most important tasks is to help her patient—in Dworkin's words—create a life “through a coherent narrative … that he himself endorses.”
Yet we have given the matter of dignity little explicit attention, Susan S. Levine claims, an oversight she sets out to remedy in this small but inspiring volume of ten essays by psychoanalysts and others. The essays begin by posing theoretical questions about the meaning of dignity and its place in human life, and move on to more clinical considerations.
The volume opens with an essay by Donna Hicks, a professional in international conflict resolution, who claims that, along with our survival