Honour

For other uses, see Honour (disambiguation).

An illustration of the Burr-Hamilton duel of 1804 – Alexander Hamilton defends his honour by accepting Aaron Burr's challenge

Honour or honor (see spelling differences; from the Latin word honos, honoris) is an abstract concept entailing a perceived quality of worthiness and respectability that affects both the social standing and the self-evaluation of an individual or corporate body such as a family, school, regiment or nation. Accordingly, individuals (or corporate bodies) are assigned worth and stature based on the harmony of their actions with a specific code of honour, and the moral code of the society at large.

Honour can be viewed in the light of Psychological nativism as being as real to the human condition as love, and likewise deriving from the formative personal bonds that establish one's personal dignity and character. From the point of moral relativism, honour is perceived as arising from universal concerns for material circumstance and status, rather than fundamental differences in principle between those who hold different honour codes.

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 and Social Context

Honour is a primal code of behaviour that defines the duties of an individual within a social group. Margaret Visser observes that in an honour-based society "a person is what he or she is in the eyes of other people." ^[1] A code of honour differs from a legal code, also socially defined and concerned with justice, in that honour is implicit rather than explicit and objectified. Honour can also be distinguished from dignity, which is measured against an individual's conscience,^[2] rather than against the judgement of a community.

Traditionally, in Western society, honour figured largely as a primitive 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.^{[citation needed]} In the early medieval period, a lord's 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."^[3] 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 West. It has been replaced by conscience or faith in the individual context, and by the rule of law and the rights and duties defined therein in a social context. Popular stereotypes would have it surviving more definitively in cultures that are more tradition-bound (e.g. Southern Italian, Polish, Persian, Turkish, Arab, Iberian, "Old South" or Dixie). Feudal or other agrarian societies, which focus upon land use and land ownership, may tend to "honour" more than do contemporary 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.^[4]

Cultures of honour and cultures of law

Various sociologists and anthropologists have contrasted 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 some aspects of their freedom to defend themselves and retaliate for injuries, on the understanding that transgressors will be apprehended and punished by society. From the viewpoint of anthropologists, 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, and the 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 depicted and celebrated in Westerns; among the plantation culture of the American South, and among aristocrats, 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 seek legal redress if it is stolen.

Cultures of honour will often arise when three conditions^[5] 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.^[5]

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 ancient China during the Warring States period, honour in battle was one of the many forms of virtue practised by the nobility. In a battle, Duke Xiang of the Song state, instead of giving the enemy a surprise attack, he waited for the enemy to go across the river in order to be a real Ren (仁) gentleman. Mao Zedong once said about Duke Xiang's humanity in war: "We are not Duke Xiang of Song and have no use for his idiotic virtue and morality."

According to Bushido, the Code of the Warrior in feudal Japan, honour was always seen as 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.

See also

• Warrior Code
• Pashtunwali
• Bushido
• Code duello
• Chivalry
• Dignitas
• Face (sociological concept)
• Izzat
• Honour code
• Honour killing
• Honour system, a philosophical way of running a variety of endeavours based on trust and honour
• Honorary degree
• The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum
• Omertà
• Vendetta

External links

• America, Truth, and Honor
• Il Canto di Malavita is a collection of three recordings from PIAS of the folk music of the Calabrian Ndrangheta, an organised crime group operating in southern Italy. Members call themselves L'Onorata, the "men of honour"; the lyrics to these songs prominently feature murder and revenge against betrayers and informers, and offer a glimpse into the self-image of a culture of honour.

References

1. ^ Doris, Jim (2003-01-05). "A conversation with Margaret Visser: diagnosing that feeling of helplessness". Catholic New Times. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0MKY/is_1_27/ai_111696819/. Retrieved 2011-03-10. 
2. ^ "...dignity abides with him alone / Who, in the silent hour of inward thought, / Can still suspect, and still revere himself...." William Wordsworth, "Yew Tree" http://www.bartleby.com/145/ww119.html.
3. ^ A Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases, Christopher Corédon, 2004, D.S. Brewer, Cambridge, ISBN 1-84384-023-5
4. ^ http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engASA330181999
5. ^ ^{a b} Richard Nisbett. Culture of Honor. 1996. ISBN 0-8133-1992-7

• Bowman, James. Honor: A History. Encounter Books, 2006. ISBN 1-59403-142-8. [Cf. excerpts from writings of James Bowman on Honor. Personal website of James Bowman. Accessed 16 May 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 digitised copy of The Spirit of the Laws book in public domain.
• d'Iribarne, Philippe. The Logic of Honor: National Traditions and Corporate Management. Welcome Rain Publishers, 2003. ISBN 978-1-56649-182-2.
• Hauser, Marc. Moral Minds: How nature designed our universal sense of right and wrong. New York: Harper Collins/Ecco, 2006. ISBN 978-0060780708.
• Hein, David. "Rethinking Honor". Journal of Thought 17.1 (Spring 1982): 3–6.
• Hein, David. "Learning Responsibility and Honor". Washington Times, 3 July 2008. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jul/03/learning-responsibility-and-honor/
• 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.