In A Theory of Justice, John Rawls names two conditions as necessary and sufficient for an agent to have self-respect. I argue that Rawls’s two conditions constitute an inadequate understanding of self-respect. Contrary to Rawls, I argue that self-respect requires moral desert, and that self-respect is a distinct concept from self-esteem.

This thesis examined the nature, experience and consequences of humiliation among Dalits (ex-Untouchables) in India (and also among UK students for comparative purposes). Social psychological research looks at humiliation as automatic, extreme and intense emotion which often leads to extreme and irrational behaviors (Lindner, 2002; Otten & Jonas, 2014; Elison & Harter, 2007). The research in this thesis contested this view and underlined the need to look at humiliation as 1) inherently relational or dynamic in nature, 2) a distinguishably group level phenomenon and 3) a mobilised phenomenon. Study 1 analysed the experiences of humiliation among Dalits and conceptualised humiliation as a complex social encounter in which one party attempts to diminish identity of another party. Study 1 also identified important dimensions of humiliating encounters that were examined in subsequent studies. Studies 2 - 3 manipulated perspective (victim or witness) and target of devaluation (personal identity or social identity) in a humiliating encounter and showed that the nature of humiliation and how it is experienced depends upon the way in which identities are defined in a humiliating encounter. Both UK students (Study 2) and Dalit participants (Study 3) confirmed the collective experience of humiliation i.e. one can feel humiliated simply by witnessing humiliation of another group member. Studies- 4 - 7 manipulated victim's response (resistance vs. compliance) during a humiliating encounter. These studies showed that humiliation is an encounter within power relations and victims of humiliation possess choice and agency to change the outcome of humiliating encounters. Study 8 analysed the humiliation rhetoric in the speeches of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the most important of Dalits leaders, and showed that the way in which humiliating encounter is resolved depends upon the mobilisation processes which can even change the nature of identities and, therefore, the nature of experience of the encounter.

In recent years, sentimentalist care ethics has been developed and defended as a normative ethical theory alongside and in opposition to Kantian liberalism. Carol Gilligan introduced the idea of a woman’s moral perspective that emphasizes maintaining relationships and responding to need, and saw it as a different way of framing moral issues. Care ethics is no longer associated only with women, and it is presented as a theory for both men and women that has its own distinctive accounts of ethical notions like justice and autonomy. These accounts have developed from analyses of injustice towards women and uncaring attitudes that they face in patriarchal societies, but ironically, care ethics has failed to discuss women’s anger at their own mistreatment, and their inability to deal with that anger. This notable lacuna in the care ethics literature is of philosophical importance because analyzing the phenomenon of women’s anger uncovers epistemic issues that have not been addressed. I discuss these epistemic issues in order to strengthen care ethics from within and extend it into other areas of ethics. My goal is to make care ethics a real contender among normative ethical theories and a truly feminist ethic.

This dissertation focuses on performance, moral practice, and self-respect in an urban South African setting. Taking as its point of departure the emergence and rapid expansion, in the 1990s and 2000s, of an outreach organization I call Jesus People Pretoria (JPP), it discusses this NGO’s attempt to create a ‘moral community’ in the post-apartheid city from the diverse vantage points of its Afrikaner leaders, its clients, and—most emphatically—its lay workers, the majority of whom are black women. Gradually moving from the everyday stage of outreach labour towards women’s gendered performances within and beyond the work environment, it proposes that at stake in the making of the JPP moral community is the negotiation of self-respect, which hinges upon the degree to which interactions imply the fostering or refutation of mutual respect, or the measure of the ‘equality’ of the exchange. As an urban entity deeply entwined in and illuminative of South Africa’s broader post-apartheid ironies, including ongoing race-based differentiation and the pervasiveness of HIV/AIDS and death, predominantly moral practice here remains but ambivalently constituted. Yet this does not denote the absence of the moral but temporarily rests it in the region of the indistinct, the unresolved, in the moment of its apparent impossibility or unachievability.

This dissertation focuses on performance, moral practice, and self-respect in an urban South African setting. Taking as its point of departure the emergence and rapid expansion, in the 1990s and 2000s, of an outreach organization I call Jesus People Pretoria (JPP), it discusses this NGO’s attempt to create a ‘moral community’ in the post-apartheid city from the diverse vantage points of its Afrikaner leaders, its clients, and—most emphatically—its lay workers, the majority of whom are black women. Gradually moving from the everyday stage of outreach labour towards women’s gendered performances within and beyond the work environment, it proposes that at stake in the making of the JPP moral community is the negotiation of self-respect, which hinges upon the degree to which interactions imply the fostering or refutation of mutual respect, or the measure of the ‘equality’ of the exchange. As an urban entity deeply entwined in and illuminative of South Africa’s broader post-apartheid ironies, including ongoing race-based differentiation and the pervasiveness of HIV/AIDS and death, predominantly moral practice here remains but ambivalently constituted. Yet this does not denote the absence of the moral but temporarily rests it in the region of the indistinct, the unresolved, in the moment of its apparent impossibility or unachievability.

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The aims of this licentiate thesis were to explore and describe female and male patients’ conceptions of integrity within health care and to illuminate the conceptions from a gender as well as a personal space boundary perspective. A qualitative design with a phenomenographic approach was used. The participants, 17 male (Study I) and 15 female patients (Study II), all of whom had undergone medical or surgical care, were strategically selected and interviewed. The identified conceptions were also analysed from a gender as well as a personal space boundary perspective. Three description categories emerged among the male patients (Study I); self-respect, dignity and confidence, while maintaining the self, dignity and confidence were the description categories found among the female patients (Study II). Male patients’ description of self-respect and female patients’ description of maintaining the self were for the most part similar although there were some differences. The conceptions revealed that integrity involves having the courage to set boundaries and having control over the private sphere, one’s self and one’s situation. While the male patients emphasised selfbelief and being alone, their female counterparts stressed that preserving one’s identity was essential in order to maintain the self. Dignity concerned being respected, and the male patients also described dignity as being seen as a trustworthy and whole person, while the women described it as not being exposed. Both male and female patients described confidence, which was related to handling patient information in a confidential way, trusting the professional caregivers, participating as well as balancing or changing the boundaries of integrity if necessary. The male patients also described confidence as being free. The personal space boundary perspective was useful for explaining the process of respecting the self by opening or closing outgoing and incoming boundaries around the self. The patients had to consider who, when and to what degree others should have access to their personal spaces. The way in which the professional caregivers interacted with the patient influenced the openness of the boundaries.

<p>The aims of this licentiate thesis were to explore and describe female and male patients’ conceptions of integrity within health care and to illuminate the conceptions from a gender as well as a personal space boundary perspective. A qualitative design with a phenomenographic approach was used. The participants, 17 male (Study I) and 15 female patients (Study II), all of whom had undergone medical or surgical care, were strategically selected and interviewed. The identified conceptions were also analysed from a gender as well as a personal space boundary perspective.</p><p>Three description categories emerged among the male patients (Study I); self-respect, dignity and confidence, while maintaining the self, dignity and confidence were the description categories found among the female patients (Study II). Male patients’ description of self-respect and female patients’ description of maintaining the self were for the most part similar although there were some differences. The conceptions revealed that integrity involves having the courage to set boundaries and having control over the private sphere, one’s self and one’s situation. While the male patients emphasised selfbelief and being alone, their female counterparts stressed that preserving one’s identity was essential in order to maintain the self. Dignity concerned being respected, and the male patients also described dignity as being seen as a trustworthy and whole person, while the women described it as not being exposed. Both male and female patients described confidence, which was related to handling patient information in a confidential way, trusting the professional caregivers, participating as well as balancing or changing the boundaries of integrity if necessary. The male patients also described confidence as being free.</p><p>The personal space boundary perspective was useful for explaining the process of respecting the self by opening or closing outgoing and incoming boundaries around the self. The patients had to consider who, when and to what degree others should have access to their personal spaces. The way in which the professional caregivers interacted with the patient influenced the openness of the boundaries.</p>

Across North America concerns have been raised about the social, emotional, and mental health of our youth. Many primary prevention programs have been proposed to address these issues, however, few have met the criteria for effective interventions, including being longitudinal, cross-curricular, emphasizing specific concepts and skills, and being within the skills and understandings of teachers and the school system at large (McCombs, 2004). The Respecting Diversity (RD) program is a social and emotional learning (SEL) intervention designed by teachers that uses a Multiple Intelligences (MI) framework to develop self-awareness, self-respect and respect for diverse others. It teaches skills such as goal setting, meta-cognition, and perspective taking that underlie SEL. The program is designed to develop, a safe, positive classroom climate to begin the school year, and facilitate social and academic learning. The study herein was intended to explore emotional and behavioral outcomes of the RD program. The study involved 218 intermediate (grades 4-7) students and their teachers, divided into intervention and control groups. Students were assessed pre and post intervention for the development of self-awareness, self-respect, awareness of others, and respect for others. Measures of classroom climate were also included. Students completed several measures of SEL, and a selected sample were interviewed to obtain detailed information about their experiences in inclusive diverse classrooms, and with the RD program itself. Data were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods, including thematic content analysis procedures and repeated measures MANCOVA’s. Both students and teachers indicated that the RD program significantly increased students’ self-respect, awareness of others, and respect for others, while students in control classrooms decreased in these factors. Classroom climate also significantly improved for treatment classrooms, and, similarly, decreased in control classrooms. Results are discussed in terms of their educational implications, limitations, and suggestions for further research.

Across North America concerns have been raised about the social, emotional, and mental health of our youth. Many primary prevention programs have been proposed to address these issues, however, few have met the criteria for effective interventions, including being longitudinal, cross-curricular, emphasizing specific concepts and skills, and being within the skills and understandings of teachers and the school system at large (McCombs, 2004). The Respecting Diversity (RD) program is a social and emotional learning (SEL) intervention designed by teachers that uses a Multiple Intelligences (MI) framework to develop self-awareness, self-respect and respect for diverse others. It teaches skills such as goal setting, meta-cognition, and perspective taking that underlie SEL. The program is designed to develop, a safe, positive classroom climate to begin the school year, and facilitate social and academic learning. The study herein was intended to explore emotional and behavioral outcomes of the RD program. The study involved 218 intermediate (grades 4-7) students and their teachers, divided into intervention and control groups. Students were assessed pre and post intervention for the development of self-awareness, self-respect, awareness of others, and respect for others. Measures of classroom climate were also included. Students completed several measures of SEL, and a selected sample were interviewed to obtain detailed information about their experiences in inclusive diverse classrooms, and with the RD program itself. Data were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods, including thematic content analysis procedures and repeated measures MANCOVA’s. Both students and teachers indicated that the RD program significantly increased students’ self-respect, awareness of others, and respect for others, while students in control classrooms decreased in these factors. Classroom climate also significantly improved for treatment classrooms, and, similarly, decreased in control classrooms. Results are discussed in terms of their educational implications, limitations, and suggestions for further research.