human exceptionalism

A Rat Is a Pig, Etc. Paperback Out

Thumbnail image for <i>A Rat Is a Pig, Etc.</i> Paperback Out

The paperback version of A Rat Is a Pig Is a Dog Is a Boy, my critique of the animal rights movement, has just been published. From my Preface to the Paperback Edition: I had two primary purposes in writing A Rat Is a Pig Is a Dog Is a Boy, a project that took [...]

Read the full article →

Peter Singer’s Views Deserve Scorn, Not Awards

It is a disturbing sign of the times that Princeton’s notorious bioethicist Peter Singer has been awarded Australia’s highest civic award “for eminent service to philosophy and bioethics as a leader of public debate and communicator of ideas in the areas of global poverty, animal welfare and the human condition.” This is a disgrace. Would [...]

Read the full article →

Human Exceptionalism and Equality Must Be Defended On All Fronts

By Wesley J. Smith, J.D., Special Consultant to the CBC Here is my contribution to the Human Exceptionalism Symposium at the Human Life Review. First, I get into why the issue is so fundamental. From, “The Struggle For Human Equality: It Must Be Defended on All Fronts:” Human exceptionalism, as I wrote in the original [...]

Read the full article →

Hippocrates Was a Human Exceptionalist

By Wesley J. Smith, J.D., Special Consultant to the CBC Jennifer Lahl, head of the Center for Bioethics and Culture (for which I consult), weighed in on human exceptionalism at the Human Life Review symposium, which debates whether religion is necessary to the defense of HE. No, she says. From, “Thank God Hippocrates Was a [...]

Read the full article →

Human Exceptionalism Symposium at Human Life Review

By Wesley J. Smith, J.D., Special Consultant to the CBC An article I wrote about the danger of an “undignified bioethics” for Human Life Review has led to a symposium on how best to advocate for human exceptionalism. I am most pleased. It is interesting: As I strive to raise the visibility of this ultimate [...]

Read the full article →

Ivory Tower Types Can Spew Most Evil

By Wesley J. Smith, J.D., Special Consultant to the CBC There is a tendency in media and among the public to blame racism and other assorted bigotries on ignorance, stupidity, or “superstition” (religion). And sometimes that is true. But just as often, evil comes from the top, down — from those who are the smartest, [...]

Read the full article →

Dutch Cannibal Television

By Wesley J. Smith, J.D., Special Consultant to the CBC Decadence strikes a beat, into your heart it will seep — to paraphrase a rock classic. But now, that term has reached a new low in the Netherlands as two men “promoted organ donation” (???) by appearing on a television program purporting to eat tiny [...]

Read the full article →

Belief in Human Exceptionalism Only Real Protection of Human Subjects in Research

By Wesley J. Smith, J.D., Special Consultant to the CBC It is well known that Nazi “doctors” engaged in horrendous medical experiments with concentration camp inmates. They thought it was fine and right to do so because they believed they were working on so-called untermenchen, that is, humans of lesser value. There is no such [...]

Read the full article →

Artificial Intelligent Computers Would be Tools, Not Moral Beings

By Wesley J. Smith, J.D., Special Consultant to the CBC Reading the Week in Review section of the NYT today, I came upon an interesting column about a new computer — dubbed Watson — that its developers hope will rise to the level of AI, defined in the side bar copied above. Watson will soon [...]

Read the full article →

Euthanasia Mass Grave Grim Reminder That Human Exceptionalism Necessary For “Never Again”

By Wesley J. Smith, J.D., Special Consultant to the CBC The opening movement of the Holocaust targeted infants with disabilities first, and then adults in the notorious T-4 program. Between 1939-1945, German doctors and other health care professionals willingly killed hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities — not because they were ordered to by [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries