V.G. Belinsky’s ideas on dignity as a subject of contemporary pedagogical reflection

The relevance of the paper is motivated by the socio-pedagogical significance of the problem of educating the human dignity among young students, the solution of which depends, in particular, on the teacher’s knowledge of the meanings of the concept of «dignity». It is indicated that Russian philosophers comprehend the category of dignity in the ethical-aesthetic, philosophical-ethical rather than in the ethical-pedagogical sense. Historians of pedagogy do not include the idea of human dignity into Belinsky’s pedagogical ideas. The paper analyzes the meanings of the word «dignity» in Belinsky’s texts; the critic’s ideas of dignity are considered significant for solving the issues of education that are relevant for our time: What does it mean to be worth to be called a person? What is the person’s destiny? What is the purpose of education? It turns out that V.G. Belinsky understands dignity as: a) the dignity of everyone belonging to humanity («a person is born not for evil, but for good …»; «respect for a person’s dignity <…> first of all for the fact that he/she is a person, and only then for his/her personal accomplishments»); b) moral quality («beauty inspires moral virtues»); c) value («the dignity of a phenomenon of reality, a work of art», «the dignity of science», «the dignity of a historical textbook»); d) self-respect («he looks at the inferior with self-respect»; e) the dignity of a model of morality, humanity («to be worth to be called a person»). In the course of educating human dignity of school students, it is important to consider the meanings of the concept of «dignity», which reflect various aspects of the phenomenon denoted and are used in different situations. In a certain pedagogical situation, the teacher selects methods for educating the human dignity of school students, focusing on the specific meaning of the named concept. Interpretations of dignity by Belinsky, made in an intelligible and vivid form, can become material for discussing the issue of dignity with students.