Being Alive is the First Requirement for Moral Value

by Wesley J. Smith

Artificial intelligence machines have no greater moral claim to our respect or ethical consideration than a broken toaster. Continue Reading »

13 Oct 2017

Restraining Populism

by Samuel Moyn

German Chancellor Angela Merkel wrote Donald Trump a public letter the day after his election. “Germany and America are connected by values of democracy, freedom and respect for the law and the dignity of man, independent of origin, skin color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political . . . . Continue Reading »

1 May 2017

Rivers Declared to Be “Persons”

by Wesley J. Smith

Just what does it mean for a river to have “rights”? Continue Reading »

31 Mar 2017

Letters

by Various

Human WrongsR. R. Reno, agreeing with Yuval Levin, believes we must rid ourselves of our nostalgia (“Public Square,” May). It is banal, of course, to suggest that we cannot live in the past. But is it nostalgic to yearn for a time when workers enjoyed a measure of security, families were intact, . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Aug 2016

Reclaim Human Rights

by Mary Ann Glendon

Longtime readers of First Things may recall that the April 1998 issue featured a nuanced statement “On Human Rights” by the Ramsey Colloquium, a diverse group of Christian and Jewish scholars led by Richard John Neuhaus. The group’s aim was to provide the Universal Declaration of Human Rights . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Aug 2016

Amnesty International Betrays Women

by Darren Geist

When I was in Thailand doing research on human trafficking in the red-light district of Bangkok, a common “show” was simulated beatings of prostitutes, while men eagerly looked on. Prostitution, along with pornography, desensitizes men to violence against women, while feeding a sense of . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Aug 2016

Human Rights and the Pan-Orthodox Council

by Mark Movsesian

The Council’s official statements join a list of human rights declarations by religious bodies, all of which conceive of dignity and rights in ways that differ from the standard Western versions. Continue Reading »

6 Jul 2016

Against Human Rights

by R. R. Reno

The Christian roots of Europe: The phrase puts me off. It points to something true, yes, and contemporary Europe remains profoundly indebted to its Christian past. Even the transnational ambition of the European Union reflects the desire for a secularized Christendom. Brussels builds on the memory . . . . Continue Reading »

1 May 2016

The Revolution Eats One of Its Own Midwives

by Carl R. Trueman

Veteran human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell finds himself on the receiving end of the world he unwittingly helped to create. Continue Reading »

16 Feb 2016

Mainstreaming “Animal Personhood”

by Wesley J. Smith

Complacency is cultural subversion’s best friend. You know what I mean: When a radical proposal is voiced, people chuckle and roll their eyes, believing that it can’t happen here, saying, “What will they think of next?” Thus, when the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sued Sea . . . . Continue Reading »

5 Feb 2016