Abstract:

The article claims that the contradictions in the interpretation of the idea of dignity, which exist in the contemporary intellectual discourse, appeared due to the preservation of the pre-modern and modern connotations of the content of the notion of “dignity” in the contemporary social consciousness. Thus, in the contemporary social consciousness there exist three basic and competing approaches to the interpretation of the idea of dignity. On the one hand, the etymological connotations of the content of the idea of dignity have consolidated in the everyday consciousness and in the intellectual discourse. Within this approach the word “dignity” is used to denote the social value of a person. This tradition of the interpretation of the notion of “dignity” served as the basis for the contemporary Ukrainian pedagogical strategies. The repre¬sentatives of the second approach consider dignity to be the essential feature of every person, not dwelling upon its content, and thus producing the difficulties in its practical appliance. On the contrary, the followers of the third approach believe dignity to be a potentially essential feature of every person, though its realization demands considerable personal efforts – a person obtains dignity only if he/she manages to realize the inner potential, making him/her into the unique social subject.

Keywords: dignity, dharma, pedagogical strategies, educational ideal, value, “quality of a soul”, virtue, charity