Human Exceptionalism

Only a philosopher could claim seriously that humans owe significant moral duties to microbes. But NYU bioethicist Jeff Sebo delivers precisely that thesis in his new book The Moral Circle: Who Matters, What Matters, and Why (W.W. Norton, 192 pp.). Don’t look for a sanctity of human life argument here. Rather, Sebo takes readers on a step-by-step simplified course in moral philosophy. He writes that moral standing depends on whether duties are owed to the entity or being under consideration. If so, these entities or beings belong in “the moral circle” and possess “intrinsic value.” The general idea that most life has at least some intrinsic value is unobjectionable. But Sebo takes it to an extreme. He advocates widening the Read More ›

Wesley J. Smith joined host Simon O’Connor on Family Matters, a show from Family First New Zealand, to discuss human exceptionalism. Together, they discuss what makes humans different from animals, the problem with mainstream bioethics today, why euthanasia is wrong, and more!

The following is an article by Gregg Henriques, originally published at Psychology Today. Henriques brings attention to the arguments for human exceptionalism, and highlights the work of Wesley J. Smith, Chair and Senior Fellow of Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism. Imagine you are driving down the street, and from the left side of the road, a dog runs out in front of you. You begin to swerve to avoid it when you see that on your right is a young girl. If you continue to swerve, you will hit her. But if you don’t keep swerving, you will run the dog over. What do you do? As brutal as the choice is, the vast majority of people would say Read More ›

Vice President JD Vance made news in Munich by accusing the European political elite of not really believing in democracy. But another line stood out for me that I think is also worth noting. Vance defended the unique dignity of human life. From the speech: Contrary to what you might hear a couple mountains over in Davos, the citizens of all of our nations don’t generally think of themselves as educated animals or as interchangeable cogs of a global economy. It’s just one sentence in a 20-minute speech. But I think it is important and urge the vice president to expand upon that thought because human exceptionalism is under increasing attack by some of society’s most powerful political and cultural Read More ›

It is always good to see someone wrestling with truth. A progressive columnist in The Guardian writes about how she is coming to understand that human life has intrinsic dignity, but she doesn’t quite understand why. Still, something very important is stirring within her. From, “I Am a Rational Liberal, Yet a Question about the Sanctity of Life Floored Me,” by Sonia Sodha: Liberalism has much to offer, but there are risks in embracing it as an overarching political philosophy without a degree of humility about its shortcomings: its hollow silence over how to navigate knotty ethical issues where society needs some kind of shared understanding. This queasiness about morality means liberals sometimes look the other way when others smuggle Read More ›

As a committed defender of human exceptionalism, I am often asked what that term means. Primarily, our moral value is intrinsic as a matter of objective worth. It need not be earned by possessing talents, traits, or characteristics. We are all equal. Human exceptionalism also appeals to our unique capacity for moral agency: Only humans have duties — to treat each other respectfully and protect the vulnerable, to husband animals humanely, and to make responsible use of the environment. In other words, humans understand right from wrong and have a duty to act accordingly. Four books helped me develop this understanding. Peril of Denying Our Humanity I enjoy science fiction, for both entertainment and the prophetic possibilities of the genre. No Read More ›

The nature-rights movement continues to advance, and that’s bad for human thriving. Now, a “tribunal” will be held in New York — coinciding with Climate Week NYC 2024 — to promote the rights of nature and undermine public support for fossil fuels. The tribunal’s website is typical of the anti-humanism that permeates the nature-rights movement. For example, the fundamental philosophy of nature rights — as elucidated at the website, is “that the interests of nonhuman beings are of equal importance to human interests.” So, pond scum, mosquitoes, trees, squirrels, grass, and scallops are equal to us. That’s self-loathing any way you look at it. Worse, adopting such a misanthropic approach to environmentalism would have serious consequences to human thriving. For example, forget about heating Read More ›