But this moralized meaning of dignity is historically very young. independently of individual characteristics. If indeed the body is substantially united to the soul, then the body shares in the dignity of the soul and of the image of God. Recognizing human dignity means respecting human beings' special value—value that sets us … Until the mid-nineteenth century, dignity suggested an idea about merit: it connoted elevated social rank, of the sort that marked nobility or ecclesiastic preferment. Dignity is the right of a person to be valued and respected for their own sake, and to be treated ethically. Dignity as a moral concept (“universal dignity”, according to I. Kant) characterizes the individual as a person: the dignity of a person is determined not by his origin, wealth, education or social status, but by his inherent freedom as an individual person and citizen. Jn 1:14), is entrusted to the maternal care of the Church. Regardless of where in the world my work takes me, few people understand the true meaning of dignity, and even fewer realize the extraordinary impact it has on our lives and relationships. In the 15th century and earlier, and also today within the fields of statistics and metaphysics, individual means "indivisible", typically describing any numerically singular thing, but sometimes meaning "a person" as in "The problem of proper names".From the 17th century on, individual indicates separateness, as in individualism. Section 4.. The concept of dignity typically brings to mind an idea of moral status that supposedly belongs to all humans equally, and which serves as the basis of human rights. It was the Stoics who first developed the idea of a dignity attributable to the human being per se, i.e. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws. Neither the state nor any person, firm, corporation, or institution shall discriminate against any person in the exercise of his civil or political rights on account of race, color, sex, culture, social origin or condition, or political or religious ideas. In Ancient times, the concept of dignity usually referred to respect for individuals with a high social status: a Greek king or a Roman senator, for example. The dignity of the human being is inviolable. Every individual, precisely by reason of the mystery of the Word of God who was made flesh (cf. the term dignity or human dignity as if it matters. An individual is a person or any specific object in a collection. Since these opinions decide important issues and serve as precedents for future cases, the meaning of dignity matters because it is an interpretive principle used to understand rights and liberties. It is of significance in morality, ethics, law and politics as an extension of the Enlightenment-era concepts of inherent, inalienable rights.The term may also be used to describe personal conduct, as in "behaving with dignity". Robbin, Tia R., ‘ Untouched Protection From Discrimination: Private Action in Montana’s Individual Dignity Clause ’ (1990) 51 Montana Law Review 553. Individual dignity. Figuring out the "something" denoted by dignity … Human dignity is the inherent worth of each individual human being.