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

Discovering Life Beyond Earth Would Demonstrate the Truth of Human Exceptionalism

_{Wesley J. Smith
April 28, 2025
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Human Exceptionalism}

Science writer Matt Ridley has always had a reductionist view of the moral importance of human beings. He’s at it again in a piece about the likelihood that scientists will eventually find proof of life beyond this world. Ridley thinks that chances of such a momentous discovery are good. No argument there. The universe is so vast and inhabitable (as we understand the term) planets so numerous, it would be truly remarkable if life only existed here. But Ridley thinks that finding proof of such life would dent human exceptionalism: It will be a fifth ‘Copernican moment’ when extra-terrestrial life is finally discovered: scientists putting yet another dent in human self-importance. They showed that the earth orbits the sun, not vice versa (Nikolaus Copernicus, …

Marvin Olasky on the Humanity of Homeless Persons: Marvin Olasky; April 28, 2025; 3

In Canada, Euthanasia Might Sometimes Be Easier to Access Than Medical Care: Wesley J. Smith; April 25, 2025; 3; Euthanasia

New Jersey Program Aims to Prevent Suicide — Just Not All Suicides: Wesley J. Smith; April 23, 2025; 3; Euthanasia

Medical Journal Article Urges Mass Propaganda Campaign Against Fossil Fuels: Wesley J. Smith; April 22, 2025; 4; Human Flourishing

U.K. Supreme Court Rules Unanimously That “Sex” Is Not Gender: Wesley J. Smith; April 18, 2025; 2; Transgenderism

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Podcast

Marvin Olasky on the Humanity of Homeless Persons

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Marvin Olasky
April 28, 2025}

Homelessness has become a crisis in the United States. We live in the richest country in the world, and yet one can drive down main thoroughfares of our most prosperous cities and be confronted with tent encampments lining streets, squalor, open-air drug markets, and destitute people begging. The crisis is multifaceted as it is seemingly intractable. What is the role of mental illness? What about drug addiction? Is the rising cost of housing part of the problem, and if so, what can be done about it? What protections does society owe these vulnerable people based simply on their humanity and what responsibilities, if any, do they owe to greater society to help themselves? The problems seem so unsolvable that it is tempting to throw up one’s hands in despair. But that’s …

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 …

Events

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