Center on Human Exceptionalism
This article, published by The Atlantic, quotes Discovery Institute Senior Fellow Wesley Smith: … Wesley Smith at First Things: “Nebraska’s new law seems entirely reasonable to me, particularly since 20 weeks is potentially (barely) within the potential viability time period… No other right is absolute–even those expressly stated in the U.S. Constitution and not based on ‘penumbras.’ Abortion shouldn’t be either.” The Read More ›
What is the proper Christian view toward “animal rights?” That depends on how one defines the term. Christians—like all people—certainly have the duty to treat animals humanely and with proper standards of care. But that is properly called animal welfare, not animal rights. So what’s the difference between animal welfare and animal rights? Animal welfare acknowledges that humans have unique dignity and value. In Read More ›
Wesley J. Smith, a prolific bioethicist, lectures on his new book, A Rat is a Pig is a Dog is a Boy. He argues for human exceptionalism and, being special creatures, human’s responsibility in the world. A book party and part of The McNaughton Fellows Lecture Series, March 18, 2010. Related
Obamacare is now the law of the land. Because health care and wellness are such essential parts of our lives and our culture, America will never be the same. For now, Obamacare preserves a private financing system—no public option. Nonetheless, it still represents a government takeover of healthcare. By eliminating risk assessment–and seizing control of benefit determinations—government bureaucrats will now Read More ›
Link to Article. Former Bush speechwriter Matthew Scully penned a tough review of Wesley J. Smith’s book in National Review last week. This week, Wesley took his turn to respond. The linked article appears in the March 22 edition of National Review.
This article, published by Frontpage Mag, contains an interview with Discovery Institute Senior Fellow Wesley Smith: Sunstein’s views were decidedly out of the political mainstream, but they were typical of a movement that author Wesley Smith, a senior fellow in human rights and bioethics at the Discovery Institute, analyzes in his new book, A Rat Is a Pig Is a Dog Read More ›
Like Jason Steorts, I am not sure where Matthew Scully and I disagree about the proper approach to animal rights. In my book, I criticized Scully for being overly emotional and anthropomorphic in his advocacy, and disagreed with his accusation made in Dominionthat research scientists have “lost all regard for their subjects,” reducing “laboratory animals to the level of microbes or cell Read More ›
Should animals, like indigent criminal defendants, be provided with legal representation by the state? It could happen. As Time has reported, on March 7, voters in Switzerland will decide whether to give “domestic creatures . . . the constitutional right to be represented by (human) lawyers in court.” What? Treating animals at law as if they were human? Don’t laugh. Lest we be Read More ›
Over the past thirty years, as Wesley J. Smith details in his latest book, the concept of animal rights has been seeping into the very bone marrow of Western culture. One reason for this development is that the term “animal rights” is so often used very loosely, to mean simply being nicer to animals. But although animal rights groups do Read More ›
This article, published by Humane Watch, provides a review of Discovery Institute Senior Fellow Wesley J. Smith’s book A Rat Is a Pig Is a Dog Is a Boy: When Wesley J. Smith first told me he was thinking of writing a book about the animal rights movement, my initial reaction was one of very cautious optimism. … Happily, my worries Read More ›