The Right Born with Us – On the Dignity of Simply Existing

When a person is born, their existence does not begin with an achievement, a decision, or a debt. It begins with a simple, radical fact: they exist. This mere being is neither earned nor explainable. It has happened—without prior consent, without its own cause. And this is precisely the origin of what we call “dignity.”

In Faust I, Goethe expresses: “Of the right that is born with us, unfortunately, there is never a question.” This does not refer to a specific law but a principle: There is a right that is not granted but comes into the world with the human being. This right does not consist of paragraphs but of a silent claim: the right to exist.

Subjectively speaking, no one can explain why they are here. They were not asked, not chosen, not even truly planned. And yet, they exist—undeniably. This “I am” is unconditional because it knows no own cause. It carries neither guilt nor merit. Whoever exists has the right to exist.

Dignity means precisely this: having come into being without one’s own guilt—but recognized in being wanted.

The first entity that usually recognizes this right is the mother. She nourishes, protects, carries. She does not say, “Prove yourself first.” She says, often wordlessly, “You may exist.” In doing so, she defends the right born with the child to exist—long before this right is written anywhere. This is not a sentimental idea but the first act of justice.

In a world that attaches everything to conditions—education, participation, respect—this thought is revolutionary. Because it says: Ability does not justify the right; existence does.

Dignity is therefore not the result of moral performance but the recognition of guiltless existence as wanted. And that is precisely what we call human rights, what we should protect, honor, and defend—not because someone is capable of something, but because they exist.