Honour (from the
Latin word
honos, honoris) is the evaluation of a person's
trustworthiness and social
status based on that individual's espousals
and actions. Honour is deemed exactly what determines a person's
character: whether or not the person reflects
honesty,
respect,
integrity, or fairness. Accordingly,
individuals are assigned worth and stature based
on the harmony of their actions,
code of
honour, and that of the
society at
large. Honour can be analysed as a
relativistic concept, i.e., conflicts
between individuals and even cultures arising as a consequence of
material circumstance and ambition, rather than fundamental
differences in principle. Alternatively, it can be viewed as
nativist — that honour is as real to the
human condition as
love, and likewise derives from the formative personal
bonds that establish one's personal
dignity
and
character.
Dr Samuel Johnson, in his
A Dictionary of
the English Language (1755), defined honour as having
several senses, the first of which was
"nobility of soul, magnanimity, and a scorn of meanness."This
sort of honour derives from the perceived
virtuous conduct and personal integrity of the person
endowed with it. On the other hand, Johnson also defined honour in
relationship to "
reputation" and
"
fame"; to "privileges of rank or birth",
and as "respect" of the kind which
"places an individual
socially and determines his right to precedence." This sort of
honour is not so much a function of moral or ethical excellence, as
it is a consequence of power. Finally, with respect to
women,
honour may be synonymous with
"
chastity" or "
virginity", or in case of a married woman,
"
fidelity".
Honour, love, and violence
Traditionally, in Western society, honour figured largely as a
guiding principle. A man's honour, that of his wife, his
family or his beloved, formed an all-important issue:
the archetypal "man of honour" remained ever alert for any insult,
actual or suspected: for either would impugn his honour.
In the early
medieval period, a lord or
lady’s honour was the group of manors or lands he or she held. “The
word was first used indicating an estate which gave its holder
dignity and status.” For a person to say “on my honour” was not
just an affirmation of his or her integrity and rank, but the
veracity behind that phrase meant he or she was willing to offer up
estates as pledge and guarantee.
The concept of honour appears to have declined in importance in the
modern secular
West.
Popular stereotypes would have it surviving more
definitively in alleged "hot-blooded" cultures (Italian
, Persian, Turkish
, Arab, Iberian
, etc.) or in
more "gentlemanly" societies (like the "Old
South" of Dixie). Feudal or other
agrarian societies, which focus upon land use and land ownership,
may tend to "honour" more than do deracinated industrial societies.
An emphasis on the importance of honour exists in such institutions
as the military (officers may conduct a
court of honour) and in organisations with a
military ethos, such as
Scouting
organisations.
"Honour" in the case of females is frequently related,
historically, to
sexuality:
preservation of "honour" equated primarily to maintenance of
virginity of unattached women and to the
exclusive
monogamy of the remainder. One
can speculate that
feminism has changed
some linguistic usage in this respect. Conceptions of honour vary
widely between cultures; in some cultures,
honour killings of (mostly female) members of
one's own family are considered justified if the individuals have
"defiled the family's honour" by marrying against the family's
wishes, or even by being the victims of
rape.
These honour killings are generally seen in the West as a way of
men using the culture of honour to control female sexuality
[26307].
Cultures of honour and cultures of law
One can contrast
cultures of honour with
cultures of
law. In a culture of law there is a
body of laws which must be obeyed by all, with punishments for
transgressors. This requires a society with the structures required
to enact and enforce laws. A culture of law incorporates an
unwritten social contract: members of society agree to give up most
of their rights to defend themselves and retaliate for injuries, on
the understanding that transgressors will be apprehended and
punished by society. From the viewpoint of
anthropology, cultures of honour typically
appear among
nomadic peoples and herdsmen who
carry their most valuable
property with
them and risk having it stolen, without having recourse to law
enforcement or
government. In this
situation, inspiring fear forms a better strategy than promoting
friendship; and cultivating a reputation for swift and
disproportionate
revenge increases the
safety of one's person and property. Thinkers ranging from
Montesquieu to
Steven Pinker have remarked upon the
mindset needed for a culture of honour.
Cultures
of honour therefore appear among the Bedouin, Scottish
and English
herdsmen of
the Border
country
, and many similar peoples, who have little
allegiance to a national government; among cowboys,
frontiersmen, and ranchers of the American
West, where official law-enforcement often remained out of
reach, as is famously celebrated in Westerns; among the plantation culture of the
American South, and among
aristocrat, who enjoy hereditary privileges
that put them beyond the reach of codes of law. Cultures of
honour also flourish in
criminal underworlds
and
gangs, whose members carry large amounts of
cash and
contraband
and cannot complain to the law if it is stolen.
Cultures of honour will often arise when three conditions exist: 1)
a lack of resources; 2) where the benefit of theft and crime
outweighs the risks; and 3) a lack of sufficient law enforcement
(such as in geographically remote regions). Historically cultures
of honour exist in places where the economy is dominated by herding
animals. In this situation the geography is usually remote since
the soil can not support extensive sustained farming and thus large
populations; the benefit of stealing animals from other herds is
high since it is main form of wealth; and there is no central law
enforcement or rule of law. However cultures of honour can also
appear in places like modern inner city slums. The three conditions
exist here as well: lack of resources (poverty); crime and theft
have a high rewards compared to the alternatives (few); and law
enforcement is generally lax or corrupt.
Once a culture of honour exists, it is difficult for its members to
make the transition to a culture of law; this requires that people
become willing to back down and refuse to immediately retaliate,
and from the viewpoint of the culture of honour, this tends to
appear to be an unwise act reflecting weakness.
Related concepts
In contemporary
international
relations, the concept of "credibility" resembles that of
honour, as when the credibility of a state or of an alliance
appears to be at stake, and honour-bound politicians call for
drastic measures.
Compare the concepts of
integrity and
face in
stereotyped East Asian cultures, or of
mana in
Polynesian
society.
The
ancient Greek concepts of honour
(
timē) included not only the
exaltation of the one receiving honour, but also the shaming of the
one overcome by the act of
hubris. This
concept of honour is akin to a
zero-sum
game.
In lands
ancient Japan
, honour was
always seen as almost a duty by Samurai. When one lost their honour or the
situation made them lose it, the only way to save their dignity was
by death.
Seppuku (vulgarly called "
harakiri," or "belly-cutting") was the most
honourable death in that situation. The only way for a Samurai to
die more honourably was to be killed in a battle by a sword.
For a similar concept with many connotations opposite to honour,
see
shame.
Honours and awards
In many countries the term
honour can refer to an
award given by the
state. Such
honours include military
medals, but more
typically imply a civilian award, such as a British
OBE, a
knighthood or membership of the French
Légion d'honneur.
See also,
List of
prizes, medals, and awards; and
Chivalric order.
In film
The 1986 film
The Karate Kid,
Part II emphasizes honour. During the beginning of the film Mr.
Miyagi explains to Daniel how he was challenged to fight an old
friend from Okinawa years ago who wanted to save his honour. Miyagi
discusses the seriousness of honour in Okinawa by saying that
"honour have no time limit". In the film the character
Chozen Taguchi fights
Daniel LaRusso with hatred because he blames
Daniel for dishonouring him. Daniel reveals that Chozen cheated
people out of their money.
See also
External links
References
- Bowman, James. Honor: A History. Encounter Books,
2006. ISBN 1-59403-142-8. [Cf. excerpts from writings of
[http://www.jamesbowman.net/honor.asp James Bowman on Honor].
Personal website of James Bowman. Accessed May
16, 2007.
- de
Secondat, Charles, Baron de Montesquieu. The Spirit of the Laws. 2 vols.
Esteban Pallares "The Honorable Pallares" Originally published
anonymously. 1748; Crowder, Wark, and Payne, 1777. External link to digitized copy of The Spirit of
the Laws book in public domain..
- d'Iribarne, Philippe. "The Logic of Honour: National
Traditions and Corporate Management". Welcome Rain Publishers,
2003. ISBN 978-1-56649-182-2.
- Nisbett, Richard E., and
Dov Cohen. Culture of Honor: The
Psychology of Violence in the South. Westview, 1996. ISBN
0-8133-1993-5.
- Pinker, Steven. The Blank
Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature. New York: Penguin Putnam, 2002. ISBN
0-670-03151-8.
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