With Your Perception of Human Personhood and Dignity Post This Session, How Would You Treat: I) Self and Ii) Others (in General and at Work Place)?

Q. With your perception of Human Personhood and Dignity post this session, how would you treat: I) Self and II) Others (in general and at work place)?

A. Human Personhood and Dignity:

Rational human soul expresses itself in the two fold activity of thinking and willing. The human potential for knowledge and choice empowers us to become the causes for our own actions. Our interpretation and response to the internal or external stimuli is determined by our human personhood which is a unique combination of our immanence, individuality, sociality and transcendence.

A unique immanence is held by each person because of the unique interaction of the sun, stars and zodiacs, earth and planets, moon and the seasons, time, space, gravitation and motion at the time of his birth. It is manifested in two forms: body and soul. While body is our source of being in the world, the soul is the unifying principle with the human nature at large.

Our individuality rather than being defined only by our genes or external exigencies is a unique combination of body and soul, mind and matter, the conscious and the unconscious, the physical and the emotional, the intellectual and the spiritual, and the ethical and moral parts of our human personality. It can only be understood by accepting the presence of a higher being into whose image we are uniquely shaped and molded.

Apart from sensing, feeling and manipulating the world like animals do, we have knowledge. This knowledge is relational and hence, inseparable from our sociality. Within a social nexus, we develop language which makes interpersonal sharing of meaning and relationships possible.

Transcendence implies going beyond one’s senses and experience, emotions and feelings, knowledge and skills, capacities and limitations to achieve excellence, moral integrity and extraordinary heights of self-actualization. This means going the central organizing function of the mind and the will.

I) Self:

• In General: One’s self-worth must never be externalized and one should be mindful and aware of her closely held set of values. While attempting to better and empower oneself, one can become aware of the reasons behind her own thoughts and beliefs by knowing personhood and act in accordance to such knowledge. This way, the attempt would be more effective.
• At Workplace: By knowing one’s personhood, one can become more convincing in her arguments while putting forth her ideas. While taking feedback and criticism positively is important, one should not allow her opinions to be passed over without deliberation.

II) Others:

• In General: Uniqueness of each individual is to be understood and respected in all relationships. If one is trying to build a relationship with another individual, she ought to think of that person as having a unique set of behaviors and expectations. This way, the two persons will understand each other better.

Secondly, even from a distance, one is expected to value individuality of a stranger of an acquaintance and not be judgmental towards them for having different set of ideas and values than themselves.

• At Workplace: Each individual has unique ideas and ways of functioning and at workplace, this will lead to a multitude of ideas, especially when working in a group. All these ideas are to be valued and seen in the context of that particular individual’s human personhood.

Having a team of individuals with varying opinions will work in the favor of the organization only when they are allowed to express their unique personhoods without being forced to align with the group or the higher authorities.