On the Origin of Dignity: Its Creation and Enhancement commences with a concise history of the evolution of the idea of dignity to provide the reader with a point of reference for the material that follows. The book sheds new light on its topic by going beyond the conventional and mythic accounts of dignity's origin to offer a detailed explanation of how, when, and where self-worth or dignity comes into being. The book describes dignity's emergence from within a universal psychological process as integral and elemental to human experience as breathing. Dignity, thus, does not depend upon social norms, historical conventions, or religious and philosophical traditions to account for its origin. Instead, it offers a detailed explanation of dignity's creation within day-to-day, moment-to-moment interpersonal experience.