Department or Program
Philosophy
Abstract
This thesis is concerned with the philosophical understanding of self-respect. I first consider historical and contemporary philosophical theories of self-respect to situate my work. Following in the footsteps of feminist philosopher Robin Dillion, I take issue with the idea that self-respect must be based solely on what is morally significant about a person, as is often argued. I argue that this mistaken view creates an abstract and essentialist conception of the self that reduces the self to a generalized moral skeleton, whose brittle bones demand that self-respect be developed without paying attention to the fullest sense of who we truly are. I argue that in order to create robust self-respect, we must build self-respect from our understanding of the whole person. This demands a complete understanding of the self which cannot be reached without acknowledging how our environment sculpts the self. I further argue that our environment is something over which we do not have control, and thus, luck greatly influences our cultivation of self-respect. Ultimately, I maintain that to develop robust self-respect, we must acknowledge the role of luck in the formation of self-respect. Through this acknowledgment, I argue, we gain the agency to forgive, and truly understand, who we are. With this in hand, self-respect can be built from the whole self, not just the self that holds moral significance. This type of self-respect has the longevity to withstand all the tumult of life and is the truest form of self-respect.
Level of Access
Open Access
First Advisor
Stark, Susan
Date of Graduation
5-2025
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Recommended Citation
Skillings, Elizabeth, "Valuing the Whole Self: Luck, Oppression, and Self-Respect" (2025). Honors Theses. 504.
https://scarab.bates.edu/honorstheses/504
Number of Pages
84
