CIM Briefing Papers

C.I.M. Outline #12

                             THE HUMAN DIFFERENCE

I.  Introduction
   
    A.  One of the major questions of our time is:  Who is man? 
        The question arises in many issues of our day

        1.  In the issue of abortion, is a fetus human?  When
            does it become human or have worth?

        2.  In euthanasia, when does man cease?

        3.  In questions of ecology, is man more important than a
            snail darter?

        4.  Ultimately, how is man different from other living
            things?  Is there a human difference?

    B.  Examples:

        1.  Abortion:  In senate hearings it was discussed:  Is a
            fetus just a cluster of cells?  Is it significant if
            it sucks its thumb at two or three months?  When does
            personhood emerge if it isn't inherent?

        2.  Euthanasia:  When does death occur?  How long should
            we treat a body with dignity?  What is the
            distinction between a human being and a corpse?

        3.  In Ecology:  How do we determine man's place in the
            ecological cycle?  Is man qualitative, or only
            quantitatively different from other things?

            a.  John Lilly (noted biologist):  "The day that
                communication is established, the dolphin becomes
                a legal, ethical, moral, and social problem." 
                (See MAN AND THE DOLPHINS, p.211-212).

            b.  Former Supreme Court justice William O. Douglas
                suggested that the wilderness itself could
                possibly have the right to sue for its
                preservation.  (See:  "Should Trees Have
                Standing?"  TOWARD LEGAL RIGHTS FOR NATURAL
                OBJECTS.  by Christopher Stone).

        4.  In Entertainment:  This problem of "What is man?" was
            graphically illustrated in the movie "Star Wars" in
            which machine and beast had equal billing with man.

    C.  The Problem:  Will man as we have known him survive? 
        B.F. Skinner has already pronounced man dead when he
        wrote:  "To man qua man we readily say `Good riddance'." 
        (From BEYOND FREEDOM AND DIGNITY)

II.  The Nature of Human Nature:  Three Views

     Our view of Human Nature depends upon our worldview.

     A.  The Theistic View

         1.  Man was created by a personal God in His own image
             (imago Dei).  Therefore, man is a physico-spiritual
             being.

         2.  Man was created for a purpose.

         3.  He has infinite worth to his Creator.  Worth then is
             absolute and inherent.  (see the Declaration of
             Independence).

         4.  Man is a fellow creature but is qualitatively
             different from other living things.

         5.  Summary:  This view gave rise to western
             civilization and has given us more freedom and
             dignity than any other, but is now being challenged.

     B.  The Pantheistic View

         1.  This is the world view of much of the East, but
             since the 60's, has been invading the west in very
             subtle ways, i.e. the New Age Movement.

         2.  It does not emphasize distinctions in life, only its
             unity.

         3.  It plays down the physical.  The physical is
             illusion.

         4.  Consciousness of self and personality are the
             ultimate problem.  Dissolution of personality is the
             ultimate end.

         5.  Summary:  The Eastern view of man sees all living
             things as equal--a kind of democracy.

     C.  The Modern Humanistic View

         We are talking here of the humanism that had its roots
         in the Enlightenment, sometimes referred to as secular
         humanism.

         1.  Man is the product of chance in a closed system of
             natural law.  Jacques Monod: "The universe was not
             pregnant with life nor the biosphere with man.  Our
             number came up in the Monte Carlo game."  CHANCE AND
             NECESSITY, p. 145.

         2.  Man is only material, a complex machine.

             Victor Frankl:  "Man is nothing but a complex
             biochemical mechanism powered by a combustion system
             which energizes a computer with prodigious storage
             facilities for retaining encoded information."

         3.  His behavior is determined.  Freedom is an illusion.

         4.  Man's dignity is the result of where he stands on
             the evolutionary scale.  He is more complex.  Man is
             different only in quantity.  He is only a part of
             nature.  Man is what he is today (according to
             evolution) because of his ability to survive and
             adapt.

III.  Two implications of Our View of Human Nature

      A.  How I view myself.  Upon what do I base my self-worth?

          1.  Theistic:  I have infinite value.  God entered the
              human sphere to redeem man at great expense--His
              own death on the cross.  My value is not arbitrary;
              it is inherent in what I am--a being created in
              God's image.

          2.  Pantheistic:  My value is not any greater than
              other things.  All life is sacred.  Hence killing
              an animal for food is murder.  (When I mow my
              grass?).

          3.  Humanistic:  Human value is arbitrary and
              subjective.  Since there is no objective or
              transcendent source of value, all value is assigned
              by my peers, based on certain criteria.

              a.  Physical:  Francis Crick has advocated that
                  newborn babies not be declared legally alive
                  until after two days when they have been
                  certified as healthly by medical examiners.  In
                  other words, they must meet certain physical
                  criteria.

              b.  Economical:  Value is derived by the person's
                  contribution to society.  Hitler decided to get
                  rid of useless eaters.  Some say today abortion
                  is better than welfare which strains our
                  resources.

              c.  Mental:  Winston L. Duke, a nuclear physicist,
                  states that "A philosophy of reason will define
                  a human being as life which demonstrates
                  self-awareness, volition, and rationality. 
                  Thus it should be recognized that not all men  
                  are human...it would seem...to be more inhumane
                  to kill an adult chimpanzee than a newborn
                  baby, since the chimpanzee has a greater mental
                  awareness."  REASON, (August, 1972).

              d.  Social and Cultural:  Ashley Montagu, a British
                  anthropologist, believes that a baby is not
                  born human.  Instead, it is born more or less
                  with a capacity for becoming human as he or she
                  is molded by social and cultural influences. 
                  Human worth is not an endowment but an
                  accomplishment.

      B.  How I treat other Human Beings.

          1.  Theistic:  Other men are not something to be used
              as a means.  Man is viewed as unique.  Man is
              qualitatively different from animals.  We use them,
              not exploit or abuse, but as a means.  Our
              treatment is based on this qualitative difference.

          2.  Pantheistic:  Others are viewed indifferently,
              almost in a fatalistic sense.  This world view by
              its very nature cannot be the stimulus for social
              good because good does not exist.

          3.  Humanistic:  It talks a great deal about social
              good, i.e., eliminating poverty, disease,
              ignorance, etc.  It talks about man in lofty
              language.  "Man is the measure of all things."     
              But does humanism have a sound basis for treating
              man any differently than animals?  We think not. 
              Consider the following questions:

              a.  If a man is essentially no different from a pig
                  or an ox, except that he has more brain cells,
                  and if a computer is more powerful mentally
                  than man, man is neither unique nor
                  significant.  If man is different only in
                  degree, then why would not a superior man not
                  be justified in treating an inferior man in a
                  way that is only different in degree from his
                  treatment of a sub-human?  There is no valid
                  basis for treating all men equal.

              b.  If human worth is arbitrarily assigned
                  according to certain criteria what happens when
                  the criteria are removed?  For instance, if
                  dolphins are given civil rights if they should
                  develop communicative ability with humans, what
                  happens to humans who lose this function?  What
                  happens if one ceases to be a productive unit
                  and become inconvenient to society?

IV.  Conclusion

     Humanism which has been vying for cultural consensus in our
     society does not have an adequate base for humane treatment
     of all men.  In the end, humanism must borrow moral values
     from Christianity.  Julian Huxley said  "Evolution leads to
     bad ethics."  Bertrand Russell said "What the world needs
     more is Christian love."  
 
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