The Science of Dignity

Steven Hitlin is a sociological social psychologist whose work spans morality, self and identity, the life course, and social theory. Before his faculty position at Iowa, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is author or co-author for several books and academic articles including Unequal Foundations: Inequality, Morality and Emotions Across Cultures (Oxford) and Moral Selves, Evil Selves: The Social Psychology of Conscience (Palgrave Macmillan).Matthew A. Andersson is a sociologist who studies health inequalities across the life course. His research has been published in numerous publications in leading journals in the social and population health sciences. Previously, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University and a Presidential Graduate Research Fellow at The University of Iowa. He serves on the editorial boards of Society and Mental Health and Journal ofGerontology: Social Sciences.

• Acknowledgments Introduction More than a Feeling: Dignity and Health Inequalities in America Chapter One A Wide-Ranging Tour of Perspectives on Dignity Chapter Two Seeing Circles: Dignity as a Public Health Issue Chapter Three Beyond Reason: Finding Dignity in Social Relations Chapter Four American Capitalism and its Multifaceted Links to Dignity Chapter Five Measuring Dignity Subjectively: Methodology for 2017 and 2021 Gallup Data Chapter Six Dignity as an Efficient Indicator of Social and Moral Integration Chapter Seven Is a Dignified Life a Healthier Life? Chapter Eight A Resource-Based Framework for Analyzing Levels of Dignity Chapter Nine Inequality and Stress: Charting Dignity During Social Adversity Chapter Ten One Polarized Nation: Dignity Across Political Ideologies Conclusion Moving Forward: Dignity's Role in Collective Consensus and Social Inspiration References Index

This wide ranging and important book brings careful empirics to the crucial topic of dignity, including by showing its impact on health. The authors move our understanding of dignity to a whole new level, with a focus on the impact of resources on dignity, and more. I learned tons from them and so will you.