Wesley J. Smith

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 ›

Wesley J. Smith was on EpochTV’s American Thought Leaders this week in an episode dedicated to exploring the history and dangers of the assisted suicide movement. From EpochTV: “When a country or a state legalizes assisted suicide or euthanasia, it can no longer call itself anti-suicide, because it specifically approves some suicides. … It’s a very dangerous movement that is normalizing this kind of approach to dying as opposed to natural death.” In this episode, I sit down with Wesley J. Smith, a lawyer, public speaker, award-winning author, and chair of … Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism. “We’re seeing in Canada also the beginning of a situation where patients who have a tough time getting an oncologist because of Read More ›

Our betters among the elites are increasingly embracing nature rights and its derivatives. Latest example: An editorial published by the World Economic Forum pushes “forest rights.” The Earth is burning and the fault is — ta-da! — capitalism! From, “Reimagining Capitalism — Giving Forests Legal Rights”: Capitalism, of course has, in many aspects, brought about incredible progress. Industrialization and globalization have propelled advances in life expectancy, education, and social welfare. But does this narrative still hold true? For the first time, GDP diverges from well-being indices in many nations. This exposes a system that not only engineers its own demise, but threatens humanity and the natural environment. Has this unnamed editorialist ever been to China? That anti-capitalist utopia has air Read More ›

People with serious mental health issues often face years, if not a lifetime, of debilitating symptoms. These traumas can sometimes be difficult to treat, much less cure. And that has some people looking for new avenues of care beyond standard medicines, including — controversially — psychedelic substances such as Psilocybin, LSD, and the like. Enthusiasts believe that these substances offer Read More ›

Sometimes the most intelligent people are the least smart. That sure seems true of the editors of Nature, once the universally respected British science journal. As I have noted before, Nature is becoming almost as ideological as it is scientific. It endorsed Kamala Harris for president and then, just before the election, doubled down on excoriating Donald Trump for somehow being anti-science — when most of the issues discussed in the article were blatantly political. Now that Trump is president-elect after an overwhelming electoral victory — and an apparent popular-vote victory — one would think that Nature’s editors would have the common sense to cease from excoriating him. But no. It just published another anti-Trump screed declaring that the world’s scientists are aghast that he won the election. Read More ›

Environmentalism is growing increasingly irrational. Advocates are now pushing to give rights to a continent. From the Inside Climate News story: Antarctic Rights’ proposal is part of the growing rights of nature movement, which has cemented various rights of ecosystems and individual species, like sea turtles, into legislation and court rulings in more than a dozen countries. The worsening climate and biodiversity crises have helped the movement gain momentum. In Ecuador, frogs have taken mining companies to court and won. In Colombia, courts have appointed human-guardians to oversee the rights of the Atrato River. There’s even precedent for giving nature a seat in the boardrooms of companies. But never has an idea been set forth to put a natural entity Read More ›

Cratering birth rates are threatening a “demographic winter,” according to a recent Wall Street Journal story, causing government leaders to believe that increasing the number of babies born has become “a matter of national urgency.” But the ever woke New England Journal of Medicine is having none of it. Instead, it published a bitter piece castigating “pro-natalism” that even deploys the ridiculous The Handmaid’s Tale cliché to make its points. From “Blessed be the Fruit” (citations omitted): “Pronatalism” is an attitude or policy approach that encourages childbearing and elevates the role of parenthood, specifically for women, as a necessary and positive societal contribution, often deliberately at the expense of women’s opportunities in education, governance, and the workforce. . . . Regardless of the stated motivations, such Read More ›

It’s no secret that American education is experiencing a profound crisis. Many of our children can’t read, do mathematics, or learn basic life skills. At the same time, many accuse the education establishment of imposing radical ideological views on children such as gender ideology and anti-Americanism. The good news is that concerted efforts are underway to reform education to better Read More ›