LIBERAL HUMAN DIGNITY

A human is a biological being who differs mentally and in terms of grasping skills from most other creatures.

They believe they act rationally, but in reality, their instincts and emotions guide them more than reason.

A person's actions are influenced by their cultural environment and the value-based choices and moral models learned from it, such as religion.

From these foundations, we assess, accept, abhor, and judge others, and we place ourselves within our worldview.

Our thinking has been most influenced by ancient Greek philosophy, Christianity, and Western humanism.

Christian thought involves the concept of seeing ourselves as made in the image of God: "Let us make man in our image."

According to Jesus’ teaching, a person's identity is their understanding of themselves.

At its core, the concept of human dignity is the belief that all people have a unique value that is tied solely to their humanity. It has nothing to do with their class, race, gender, religion, abilities, or any other factor apart from their humanness.

The term "dignity" has evolved over the years.

Originally, the Latin, English, and French words for "dignity" had nothing to do with a person's inherent value. They were much closer to the concept of "merit." If someone was "dignified," it meant they held a high status.

They belonged to royalty or the church, or at the very least, had wealth.

Our image illustrates the development of the concept of human dignity

from its original meanings, related to status and merit,

to the modern understanding of intrinsic human value

that is independent of external factors.

The image depicts the transition from a historical

perspective where dignity was associated with high rank,

royalty, or wealth, to a contemporary view where diverse

individuals stand together, united as humanity.

This highlights the shift in human dignity from a mark of the elite to a universal right, recognized by the United Nations in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

In recent decades, identity has increasingly focused on the self and on emphasizing personal, all-encompassing freedom and rights. We forget the basic truth of life's impermanence: all you have to do is wait – and everything will pass.

Would a civil society emerge more effectively if people were allowed to act more autonomously, with fewer norms, and more self-initiative, rather than being guided by institutions or markets?

A hundred years ago, Finland was built this way from the ground up, and the banking system, commerce, telecommunications, library system, and maternity clinics were created.

However, this was not about business being handed over to large corporations through "freedom of choice."

It is important to note, though, that individual initiative has been awakened. A collective movement is growing, but in a different way than before; it happens more spontaneously and without heavy structure, yet with the same passion, fire, and community spirit as in societies, movements, and cooperatives in the early 20th century, before the time of independence, when the foundation of Finland was being laid.