You’re not going to believe this

In the latest issue of The New Republic, an article by Steven Pinker, the Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard, attacks the concept of “human dignity,” one of the central ideas of Catholic social teaching, indeed of contemporary Catholic moral theology. His point seems to be that “dignity” is not only a slippery concept, but intellectually dishonest. This was one of those articles (rare in TNR) that was supposed to elucidate some element of Catholicism that was so lacking in any understanding of Catholic theology that it was hard to finish. His article is called “The Stupidity of Dignity.” You can find it:here As an example, here’s one of Mr. Pinker’s main objections. Note the way he uses the term “dignity.” …..Second, dignity is fungible. The Council [The President’s Council on Bioethics] and [the] Vatican treat dignity as a sacred value, never to be compromised. In fact, every one of us voluntarily and repeatedly relinquishes dignity for other goods in life. Getting out of a small car is undignified. Having sex is undignified. Doffing your belt and spread- eagling to allow a security guard to slide a wand up your crotch is undignified. Most pointedly, modern medicine is a gantlet of indignities. Most readers of this article have undergone a pelvic or rectal examination, and many have had the pleasure of a colonoscopy as well. We repeatedly vote with our feet (and other body parts) that dignity is a trivial value, well worth trading off for life, health, and safety…… But voluntary relinquishments of dignity are not the point. Involuntary ones are. The fetus does not voluntarily choose to relinquish life. The worker in the developing world is not voluntarily denied a living wage. The child living in a slum does not voluntarily choose hunger. The handicapped person does not voluntarily choose to be discriminated against. The nursing-home patient does not voluntarily choose to be treated inhumanely. The torture victim does not voluntarily choose physical agony. The victim of genocide does not voluntarily choose death. This is quite different from getting out of a small car. In Catholic social teaching, human dignity has little to do with occasionally looking “undignified” or “silly.” It is about the inviolable value and worth of every human being, who is created by God. But this foundational concept in human rights is not something that appeals simply to Catholics, or Christians, or even simply to believers. As Pope Benedict XVI said in his recent speech to the U.N. General Assembly, “Human rights are increasingly being presented as the common language and the ethical substratum of international relations. At the same time, the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of human rights all serve as guarantees safeguarding human dignity.” To his credit, Mr. Pinker says that those who use the concept may not always be expressing the teaching in its fullness. Nonetheless, his article betrays a misunderstanding of understanding of the concept itself, and of its use in the world of Christian morality. You want to say to the writer: Let me get this straight, you’re against the dignity of the human person? Moral theologians, please weigh in. James Martin, SJ