Gülen’s human dignity theory : why do we have dignity, and how should we treat each other?

M.A. (Philosophy)Abstract: Monotheistic religions consider human beings to be superior to all other creatures and throughout history the question of the moral worth and specialness of the human has been widely discussed. Yet, human dignity is a complex term and has no agreement on definition. Immanuel Kant endows upon rational beings intrinsic values, and has considered dignity as central to his notion of morality. My dissertation addresses issues that relate to aspects such as, non-rational human beings i.e., foetuses, infants, and the mentally ill also possessing dignity. I explain that, not only reason, but inclinations give us dignity. I discuss how the human is a complex being, whilst analysing how life, emotion, love, the spiritual heart, faith, responsibility, duty of representativeness, conscience, free-will, and uniqueness all give dignity. This work underlines how Sufism, which relates to spirituality in Islam, approaches the concept of dignity in a similar manner to Christianity, both of which adopt “The image of God” approach. M. Fethullah Gülen’s love-based dignity concept promotes extreme sacrifice (Ithar), Kant however does not allow a person to compromise his own dignity by helping others. Similar to Christ, Gülen’s human love encompasses even the oppressive and hypocrites among people. It appears that Gülen does not support the death penalty, but rather promotes tolerance and forgiveness worldwide. Kant is very firm upon the implementation of retributivist law, which is similar to The Quran’s retaliation order. For Kant, moral relations are only possible if peers don’t put each other under obligation. In the Gülen concept, the helper and the receiver can set up moral relations. My work explains that Kant’s human dignity concept gives rights to human beings. On the other hand, in today’s volatile economic and political environment; large numbers of migrants, unemployed, and marginalised social, and ethnic groups experience human rights violations..