The Death of Humanism

opinion by John Merriam

In school I was taught that, since the Renaissance, our civilization has partly been based upon humanistic ideals: the exaltation of human life as the highest of all values. One dictionary defines humanism as, "a doctrine, attitude or way of life centered on human interests or values... a philosophy that asserts the dignity and worth of man...." Is humanism still with us? If so, I'm curious, then, why the torture or death of a cat or donkey provokes such outrage when the death of scores of humans--especially in Iraq or Afghanistan--barely captures the notice of the media. Until relatively recent years, animals were viewed as expendable and almost no value was placed on their lives. Now, the killing of Canadian geese in the Puget Sound area can draw more protest than does the killing of human beings who get in the way of our troops during invasions of small countries in Latin America.

Perhaps the reason for our apparent lack of humanism is that humans number more than six billion. If all humans were to enjoy a decent quality of life--like that, for instance, of the average resident of the US--our planet is capable of supporting only two billion humans, according to the Zero Population Growth Reporter. We are triple that, and our numbers continue to grow exponentially. The population on Earth has doubled in just my lifetime! The quandary of humanism is that human existence is valued for its own sake, but increasing numbers of humans ruin the quality of life, and human life becomes less meaningful.

I see no sign that population growth will reverse itself anytime soon. Our most powerful political and religious leaders exhibit overt hostility to abortion and other forms of family planning. Republicans have imposed a 'gag rule' that prevents international family planning aid from going to any country where the word "abortion" is even mentioned. That is ironic because women in third-world countries most in need of family planning assistance are least likely to get it. The ironic result this is that the poorest women have the most babies, babies that are least likely to receive adequate nurture and education. Homosexuality seems like a victimless solution to the explosion of human population and, given the historical failures of all attempts to control the human sex drive, perhaps the only solution. But again, political and religious leaders are so opposed to homosexuality that it is not difficult to imagine spittle forming at the corners of their mouths whenever the subject is brought up. The latest example is President Bush's proposal of a constitutional amendment to prevent same-sex marriage.

The population explosion has nothing to do, per se, with humanism, but it does compel us to take the next philosophical step. How can we exalt human beings when there are so many human beings? How can we value that which threatens to overwhelm us? As human numbers mushroom, we are on the cusp of an epidemic of extinction of countless species of animals, including perhaps ourselves. Humanism, I suggest, is obsolete. Perhaps the time has come instead for an exaltation of animals. Now I understand the animal rights movement.

John Merriam is a former merchant seaman who now works as a lawyer in Seattle representing all types of seamen on wage and injury claims.