Interviews
Discussing The Possibility of Respect
Myisha Cherry and I chat about my theory of respect as understanding, empathy and love, the place for respect in an unjust world, and more.
In this podcast with Charles Griswold, Charles and I discuss the tension between our Western moral ideals of respect for persons and our practice. And I try to explain why, to overcome this tension, we need to go beyond the notions of autonomy, non-interference, and rights, to something deeper, namely an effort to understand others on their own terms. We also discuss the challenges of doing this for those differently situated than us. In this regard, Charles digs into what I have to say about James Baldwin’s famous debate with philosopher Paul Weiss on the Dick Cavett show, and what it teaches us about the demands of respecting person.
The Dignity Initiative Meets Remy Debes
The Dignity Initiative interviews philosophers, anthropologists, neuroscientists, epidemiologists collaborating across multiple universities, as well as experts in international development and gender at UNICEF to examine the institutional, social, material and psychological contexts that enable the enactment and experience of dignity. This interdisciplinary research project responds to the recent imperatives to better understand the notion of dignity and the social contexts in which an individual's dignity can be actualized or painfully ruptured.
University of Memphis Graduate School Celebrating Faculty Excellence: Dr. Remy Debes Receives 2024 GSA Mentor Award
Dr. Remy Debes stands among the 8 distinguished recipients of the 2024 GSA Mentor Award. His commitment to guiding graduate students at the University of Memphis within the Department of Philosophy, serving as both Professor of Philosophy and Chair, has merited him this esteemed recognition.
Public Essays
“Dignity”
Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyDignity is a complex concept. In academic and legal contexts, “human dignity” denotes a kind of basic worth or status that purportedly belongs to all persons equally, and which grounds fundamental moral or political duties or rights.
"Facing Up to Oppression: Adam Smith and The Question of Reparations"
Adam Smith WorksIf the development of free societies, grounded in principles of liberty, equality, and the rule of law, is the crowning glory of the western world, then the modern history of western oppression is its bitter and enduring shame.
"Dignity is Delicate"
AeonThe contemporary Western dogma is to treat every individual in a way that acknowledges his or her worth as a human being, regardless of their port of departure. And yet, this dogma is delicate.