I recommend "On the Problem of Human Dignity" by Dr Mette Lebech.  It is a philosophical work, but it traces the history of the concept of dignity in Western thought from the Greeks to the present.  The work has been influential in bioethics, ICT ethics and medical ethics.

You will also get value from 'Four Competing Conceptions of Human Dignity in Europe'. Lebech, M. (2009) In: Gerl-Falkovitz, Gottloeber, Kaufmann and Sepp (eds.) Europaeische Menschenbilder, Thelem: Dresden.

If you mix and mach the variables of religion & sexism together, it would ba an umbrella for politics and ethics too.

Hi Estella,

I am a sociologist but I think the most interesting writings on dignity are found in the area of law and ethics - not sociology.  This is because the right to die with dignity is being discussed more openly now (at least in the U.S.) and more states are considering following  the Oregon model by enacting laws allowing for physician assisted suicide.  Hence, many great minds are writing learned papers and essays on the topic of death with dignity; and these writings are becoming part of the fact gathering process that state legislative bodies engage in prior to enacting a change of law of such monumental note. (Sociological studies are often made part of the legislative record and noted in the preamble to a new law; for instance the welfare reform law enacted during the Clinton Administration that "ended welfare as we know it" cited a controversial sociological study to support the conclusion/proposition that "marriage is the foundation of American society" and therefore all unwed mothers on welfare should get married to save their illegitimate children from lives of delinquency, crime and poverty.)

So, I suggest starting your search by Googling "death with dignity" and "dignity and the right to die" in order to mine the material on dignity in connection with the ultimate rite of passage.  I just this minute Googled the latter phrase and arrived at the following link, which is as good a place as any to start your exploration:  

.

I am also an estate planning attorney and a number of years ago when I first started preparing "Living Wills" for clients, most of the research that I undertook in connection with preparing my Living Will Form (and the alternate clauses to discuss with clients) was focused on the concept of dignity rather than on the legal requirements of specifying one's end-of-life desires and designating a Health Care Representative as a back-up.  As a result of my research on death with dignity, my boilerplate form got longer and longer and the alternate clauses became more plentiful and detailed; to-wit, "What kind of 'heroic measures' do you want your  doctors to avoid?).

Happy hunting,

Gwen

thanks a lot for your help!

I was thinking about your question and looking in my library settled upon four texts.

Confessions by Saint Augustine.

The Way of the Sufi by Irdies Shah

A Flower Does Not Talk by Abbot Zenkei Shiayama.

and 

The Proper Study of Mankind by Isaiah Berlin.

A list that may at first glance seem to equate Dignity with a degree of fatalistic acceptance but I would resist this conclusion. I have rediscovered Berlin recently after finding him "difficult" when I was a much younger student and would recommend his writings on concepts of liberty and Herzen.

Best Regards

David Arbon.

Thanks David, these are precious suggestions

I recommend "On the Problem of Human Dignity" by Dr Mette Lebech.  It is a philosophical work, but it traces the history of the concept of dignity in Western thought from the Greeks to the present.  The work has been influential in bioethics, ICT ethics and medical ethics.

You will also get value from 'Four Competing Conceptions of Human Dignity in Europe'. Lebech, M. (2009) In: Gerl-Falkovitz, Gottloeber, Kaufmann and Sepp (eds.) Europaeische Menschenbilder, Thelem: Dresden.

Dignity is a highly abstract, vague concept that is difficult to measure within the context of general nursing. Despite this, it is a central phenomenon to nursing and so it is crucial that health care workers have a clear depiction of dignity.

Griffin-Heslin, Vanessa Lynne. "An analysis of the concept dignity." Accident and Emergency Nursing 13.4 (2005): 251-257.

Perhaps reading the writings of Thomas Melendo can find some answers about dignity. To me it has served me well. For example:

http://dspace.unav.es/dspace/bitstream/10171/570/2/2.%20METAF%C3%8DSICA%20DE%20LA%20DIGNIDAD%20HUMANA,%20TOM%C3%81S%20MELENDO.pdf