Achieving respect for human dignity through cognitive and emotional education

Human dignity has become a buzzword in many socio-political debates and has also permeated educational science and psychology. Many curricula and teaching materials have begun to deal with the issue of human dignity, although the approaches to integrating the concept of human dignity differ, even with regard to the weighting of emotional and cognitive education. The question arises as to why these factors are important for the respect of human dignity and how they could be integrated into education about respect for human dignity. This article answers these questions in several steps. In the first step, it discusses fundamental concepts (human dignity, respect, recognition). In the subsequent steps, the text deals with the role of emotional and cognitive education for the respect of human dignity. Finally, the article provides a summary of the theoretical background and shows consequences for education about respect of human dignity.