The Shadow-gloom and Weight of the Sacred

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In the book Sources of the Self, up to this point, Charles Taylor has been exploring one strand of moral intuitions: those moral intuitions which cluster around the sense that human life is to be respected. As discussed in my previous post on the book, Taylor states that the modern sense of respect involves three aspects which "gives a salient place to freedom and self-control [autonomy], places a high priority on avoiding suffering, and sees productive activity and family life as central to our well-being" (14).

Taylor then identifies three axes of moral thinking. The discussion thus far has centered around the first axis noted above: moral intuitions clustering around the sense that human life is to be respected. The other two axes are our understandings of what makes a full life and the range of notions concerned with dignity. In discussing the second axis, questions addressed include thoughts such as "what kind of life is worth living, or what kind of life
Click for larger imagewould fulfill the promise implicit in my particular talents...or what constitutes a rich, meaningful life..." (14). Modern people wonder, often with anxiety, whether life has meaning and, if it does have meaning, they wonder what that meaning is. This second axis has taken on a special prominence in modern life, as opposed to earlier eras, that I'll write about in the next post.

The third axis, notions concerned with dignity. In order to examine dignity, two types of respect must be identified. The first is "active respect", which is the respect for rights in the sense of non-infringement, as summarized in the first paragraph of this blog post and the development of which is discussed in this blog post. The second is "attitudinal respect", which is thinking well of someone, even looking up to him or her. In discussing dignity, it is attitudinal respect at play, not active respect.

The very way we walk, move, gesture, speak is shaped from the earliest moments by our awareness that we appear before others, that we stand in public space, and that this space is potentially one of respect or contempt, of pride or shame (15).

Dignity is fundamental to one's self-worth, our understanding of ourselves. Householder, provider, father--all of these things can be the basis for dignity just as their absence can be devastating to one's sense of self-worth.

I'll expound upon Taylor's treatment of these three axes in my next post.