Cool post! I find your summary of this virtue valuable and clear. My only criticism would be that you sidestep (explicitly) the question of whether you should respect people disrespecting you or trying to use you. And for me, that’s THE issue with the value of respect as a rule, as opposed to a default behavior.
This virtue is well summed up by the version of Kant’s Categorical Imperative that goes like this: “So act that you treat humanity… always at the same time as an end, never merely as a means” (Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals).
To see an easy to read exploration of this imperative, there is this post by Mark Manson. Very entertaining, but aimed at a larger audience than just rationalists.
It seems odd to me that there isn’t a word in English that precisely encapsulates this virtue.
Even if that’s not perfect, I associate it with empathy, and acting on that empathy.
Cool post! I find your summary of this virtue valuable and clear. My only criticism would be that you sidestep (explicitly) the question of whether you should respect people disrespecting you or trying to use you. And for me, that’s THE issue with the value of respect as a rule, as opposed to a default behavior.
To see an easy to read exploration of this imperative, there is this post by Mark Manson. Very entertaining, but aimed at a larger audience than just rationalists.
Even if that’s not perfect, I associate it with empathy, and acting on that empathy.