Literature Review

Dignity is discussed all the time. The literature on dignity is vast – one paper estimates that 1,200 books and 11,000 articles were published on dignity in English between 1970 and 2003 (Witte, 2003).

This literature review tries to survey that work. It covers dignity in aid, development, law, medicine, and rights, and it discusses some concepts adjacent to dignity, such as capabilities and wellbeing. Then we examine philosophy’s view on dignity, in the West and elsewhere, showing how ideas of dignity have varied over time and place. Finally, it turns to describing the various efforts that have been made to measure respect.

We’ll continue to occasionally update the review – you can read the in-progress literature review here.

Citation: Wein, T. 2022, Dignity and development: a review of the literature on its application, definition and measurement. The Dignity Project. (working paper). DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/8AVWY