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

Wesley J. Smith Discusses Latest Surrogacy Controversy and Wildfires with Janet Parshall

Editor
August 14, 2026
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Bioethics
Wesley J. Smith appeared on In the Market with Janet Parshall on August 13, 2026, to discuss the case of Baby Gabriel, a baby recently born via his surrogate after his parents ordered the surrogate to abort. Smith discussed the specifics of the case as well as the ethical issues with surrogacy. “It treats babies as so many products,” Smith explained. Smith also discussed a recent article from a professional journal calling for wildfires to be treated as a public health emergency. Smith explains why labeling everything a “public health crisis” is a danger to individual freedom. “It’s what I call a ‘technocracy,’ rule by experts,” said Smith. Listen to Wesley J. Smith on In the Market with Janet Parshall (starts at …

Commercial Surrogacy Turns Women into Machines, Babies into Products

Wesley J. Smith
August 13, 2026
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Bioethics

Why Is the Archdiocese of Washington Less Protective of Religious Liberty Than Maryland?

Arina Grossu Agnew and Jay Richards
August 11, 2026
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Conscience

We Should Try to Prevent All Suicides

Wesley J. Smith
August 11, 2026
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Euthanasia

The Lancet: Wildfires the Latest “Health Emergency”

Wesley J. Smith
August 10, 2026
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Public Health

Robert J. Marks II on the Benefits and Potential Perils of Artificial Intelligence

Robert J. Marks II
August 10, 2026
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Podcast

Robert J. Marks II on the Benefits and Potential Perils of Artificial Intelligence

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Robert J. Marks II
August 10, 2026
We are in the age of artificial intelligence. But what does that mean for the human future? Some claim that AI is merely a very sophisticated tool that will lead to stunning societal improvements such as miraculous medical breakthroughs, greater economic efficiency, and an exponential increase in human knowledge. But others worry that an out-of-human-control AI could destroy liberty, create immeasurable societal destruction, and perhaps, even unleash a technological Armageddon that brings about the end of the human race. Which is it? Or are both potential possibilities? To sort it all out for us, on this special summer edition of Humanize, Wesley asked Discovery Institute’s Robert J. Marks II to return for his third appearance. An electrical engineer by education and …

Stephen C. Meyer on “The Story of Everything”

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Stephen C. Meyer
June 15, 2026
In 50 BC, the great Roman statesman Cicero expressed a thought that has been echoed by thinkers down the generations: “The celestial order and beauty of the universe compel me to admit that there is some excellent and eternal Being who deserves the respect and homage of men.” But in our own day, the evolutionary biologist and atheism proselytizer Richard Dawkins has claimed, “The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.” Dawkins believes that complex life and the cosmos arose through gradual, evolutionary mechanisms, not through any influence of a creator or purposeful creation. But which worldview does the scientific evidence …

Timothy S. Goeglein on Restoring a Legacy of Faith, Freedom, and Family

Timothy S. Goeglein
May 18, 2026
The United States is in a cultural crisis. Our young are experiencing unprecedented levels of mental illness. Family structures are crumbling with out-of-wedlock births increasing while, at the same time, the number of children being born is decreasing. Some worry about masculinity under attack while others believe that “toxic masculinity” is the cause of most problems. Many are even worried that democracy itself is in real and present danger. It’s all a big mess. How do we restore societal equilibrium? In a new compendium of his many columns on cultural issues, What Really Matters, Timothy S. Goeglein offers readers what he calls a “blueprint” to encourage us “to reevaluate the road we currently travel” and get back to the basics of …

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