Human Exceptionalism | Discovery Institute

Center on Human Exceptionalism

The mission of Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism is to affirm and uphold the intrinsic nature of human dignity, liberty, and equality. In resistance to a growing movement against unique human personhood, we aim to revitalize a commitment to the traditional Western view of human rights and human responsibilities — summed up by the term “human exceptionalism.” Read more

Humanize

Progressive Columnist Almost Embraces Sanctity of Human Life

_{Wesley J. Smith
January 14, 2025
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Human Dignity}

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 in controversial ethical …

Is There a Difference Between “Mind” and “Brain”?: Brian R. Krouse, Angus J. Menuge, and Michael R. Egnor; January 13, 2025; 2

Will “Nature” Sue to Prevent Mining of Huge Lithium Deposit?: Wesley J. Smith; January 9, 2025; 3; Nature and Conservation

Medical Journal Articles Urge Same Health Care Coverage for Illegal Aliens as Citizens: Wesley J. Smith; January 6, 2025; 5; Health Care

Assisted-Suicide Death Ceremonies Becoming Normalized: Wesley J. Smith; January 2, 2025; 3; Euthanasia

High U.N. Official Supports “Nature Rights” and Environmental Lawfare: Wesley J. Smith; December 31, 2024; 3; Nature and Conservation

More posts ….

Podcast

Is There a Difference Between “Mind” and “Brain”?

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Brian R. Krouse, Angus J. Menuge, and Michael R. Egnor
January 13, 2025}

What is the “mind”? Is it a pure product of raw brain activity? Or, is it something “other” — that can be experienced, but not measured, observed but not fully defined? Does free will exist? Are our brains just so many meat computers? A new anthology, Minding the Brain, explores these and related issues in depth — both from philosophical and scientific viewpoints — explaining how and why “mind” and “brain” are distinct things. Three of the contributors to the book — all Discovery Institute colleagues — join Wesley on Humanize to discuss this fascinating topic. Editor and Contributor Brian R. Krouse is a software engineer with research interests in the philosophy of the mind, computer science, and neuroscience. He has a …

Dr. Kristin M. Collier on the Importance of Recognizing the Patient as a “Person”

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Dr. Kristin M. Collier
December 16, 2024}

Medicine and healthcare have become one of the most contentious sectors of modern society. Doctors have greater scientific knowledge with which to help patients than at any time in history. But at the same time, the field seems to be heading in a more crassly technocratic direction, in which the human being seeking care may become lost in the attempt to heal the patient’s bodily systems. One doctor is working to return medicine to its more humane roots. Kristin M. Collier, MD, FACP is an associate professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she serves as the director of the University of Michigan Medical School Program on Health, Spirituality and Religion. She is also an associate program director of the Internal Medicine Residency …

Nina Shea on the Persecution of the Catholic Church in China

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Nina Shea
December 2, 2024}

Religious persecution continues to afflict the world. Anti-Semitism abounds. Certain Islamic countries suppress minority faiths while Muslims face persecution in countries like India. Non-Orthodox Christians are persecuted in Russia, while some American Christians claim that they are discriminated against because of living out their faith precepts. In this episode of Humanize, Wesley focuses on the suppression of the Catholic Church in Communist China. Making her second appearance on the podcast, Wesley’s guest is one of the most informed persons in the world about these egregious human rights abuses. Nina Shea is a senior fellow and director of the Center for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute. Ms. Shea has been a human rights lawyer for nearly 40 years. She works …