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

U.K. Supreme Court Rules Unanimously That “Sex” Is Not Gender

Wesley J. Smith
April 18, 2025
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Transgenderism
Good news out of the U.K. on the gender ideology front. The country’s highest court has ruled that “sex” discrimination means the biological meaning of the term and cannot be conflated with subjective feelings about “gender.” From the AP story: The U.K. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a woman is someone born biologically female, excluding transgender people from the legal definition in a long-running dispute between a feminist group and the Scottish government. The court said the unanimous ruling shouldn’t be seen as victory by one side, but several women’s groups that supported the appeal celebrated outside court and hailed it as a major win in their effort to protect spaces designated for women. Excellent. The ruling is commonsensical from a …

Peter Singer Endorses Geriatric Suicide in the New York Times

Wesley J. Smith
April 17, 2025
4
Euthanasia

How “Expedience Ethics” Busts Through Moral Limits

Wesley J. Smith
April 15, 2025
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Bioethics

Wesley J. Smith’s Remarks at the Human Life Review’s 50th Anniversary Gala

Editor
April 14, 2025
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Human Exceptionalism

Dire Wolves Are Still Extinct

Wesley J. Smith
April 10, 2025
3
Genetic Manipulation

“Great Lakes and State Waters Bill of Rights” Legislation Introduced in New York

Wesley J. Smith
April 9, 2025
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Nature and Conservation

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Podcast

Katy Faust on Putting Children First

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Katy Faust
April 7, 2025
Childhood in America today is often troubled. Children are experiencing mental health crises, suicidal ideation, educational underperformance, social discord, sexualization at young ages, and unprecedented social challenges. What to do? Wesley’s guest on this episode of Humanize, Katy Faust, has invested years of her life to solving the crisis of contemporary childhood. Faust believes the time has come to put children first. In this day and age, that’s not as easy as it may sound, as she clearly describes. Faust is editor of the new book, Pro-Child Politics, which tackles contentious issues such as masculinity, femininity, pornography, gender ideology, education, race, and taxes as they impact children. She is Founder and President of Them Before Us, a global …

Bobby Schindler on the 20th Anniversary of the Death of Terri Schiavo

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Bobby Schindler
March 17, 2025
For those who may not remember, Terri Schiavo was a profoundly cognitively disabled woman who became the subject of a legal and cultural battle that made international headlines. The case became a bitter and protracted conflict between Michael Schiavo, Terri’s husband who wanted to pull her feeding tube, and the Schindler family that fought to save their child and sister’s life. In the end, the courts granted Schiavo permission to do as he wanted. It took two weeks for Terri to die. This year marks the 20th anniversary of her death, and it seems a good time to take stock of the meaning and legacy of her case. Wesley’s guest is Terri’s brother, Bobby Schindler. He is president of the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network that advocates for the medically …

David V. Hicks on the Myths We Live By

David V. Hicks
March 3, 2025
We live in an increasingly secular age in which religious believers — particularly Christians — are accused of believing in myths, meaning false stories. But are religious myths really false? Moreover, do modernists have their own myths by which they live? And why do humans create myths and what societal purposes do they serve, anyway? The classical educator and Orthodox Christian David V. Hicks has thought deeply about these questions, which he explores in a fascinating new book: The Stones Cry Out: Reflections on the Myths We Live By. In the known universe, only man quests for both “meaning” and “truth.” Hicks notes that myths are our primary means of pursuing these dual human exceptionalist pursuits. The myths about which he writes are not just religious …

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