World Magazine Columnist on Dr. Doom and “The End of Humanism”
Secularism Lives, But Man Is All But Dead
By J. Richard Pearcey
World magazine columnist and Culture Editor Gene Edward Veith responds to the Dr. “Doom” Pianka upset in an article titled, “The End of Humanism,” in which Veith argues that “mankind doesn’t fare too well in cutting-edge intellectual thinking.”
Veith begins by asking, “Remember humanism? That optimistic belief that human beings are the apex of the universe, the source of all values, and the measure of all things? Throughout the 20th century, many intellectuals believed that humanism would take the place of the world’s religions.”
But something happened on the way to deification: “Even within the world of humanism, the status of ‘Man’ has been diminishing,” Veith writes. “In the sequence of Humanist Manifestos issued over the years, what began with the exaltation of ‘Man’ has been reduced to the exaltation of ‘science,’ by which adherents mean evolution. Today, ‘secular humanists’ still believe in secularism, but the humanism is all but gone. They have taken the next step, deriding humanism as an outdated relic of modernism. Cutting-edge thinking is increasingly anti-human.”
This bring us to the recent speech by University of Texas evolutionary ecologist Eric Pianka, well covered in The Pearcey Report. Pianka was addressing the Texas Academy of Science, which later honored him with the “2006 Distinguished Scientist” award.
Veith observes that, “when people learn what is being taught in their tax-supported universities, they are often shocked. So before Mr. Pianka’s talk, Academy officials threw out a TV cameraman who was videotaping the conference. Mr. Pianka explained that the public was not ready to hear what he was going to say. The old humanists used to believe in the freedom of the press and the free flow of ideas. But ordinary Texans might not approve of hearing that this Distinguished Texas Scientist wanted to kill them.”
“Mr. Pianka began by condemning ‘anthropocentrism,’ the idea that human beings have a privileged place in the universe. He told about a neighbor who once asked him what good are the lizards that he studies. Mr. Pianka replied, ‘What good are you?’”
To discover what good, if any, humanity may or may not enjoy, according to current secular orthodoxy, the rest of Veith’s article is here. His blog is here.
Related articles:
* Transcript: Dr. Eric Pianka at Texas Academy of Science, The Pearcey Report
* Meeting Dr. Doom, by Forrest Mims, The Citizen Scientist
* Ecologist Draws Fire Over Views on Population Control, CBC News
* Dealing With Dr. Doom, by Shawn Carlson, The Citizen Scientist
* Academy of Science Responds to Critics, by Jamie Mobley, Gazette-Enterprise
* UT Professor Supports Mims on Dr. “Doom” Speech, J. Richard Pearcey, The Pearcey Report
* Forrest Mims Did Not Misrepresent Prof. Eric Pianka’s Statements, by James Redford
* Doomsday: UT Prof Says Death Is Imminent, by Jamie Mobley, Gazette-Enterprise
* Whirlwind of Controversy Surrounds UT Prof, by Jamie Mobley, Gazette-Enterprise
--------------------
J. Richard Pearcey is editor & publisher of The Pearcey Report.
