Merely Human

Episode 6 is the first of three episodes originally recorded to be one single episode.

Segment one features a discussion of creator verses organizer, inventor versus promoter, the underappreciated genius verses the public face of success. Jay explains why he takes sides with Jack Kirby and Nikolai Tesla versus Stan Lee and Thomas Edison with as much respect as he can muster.

Segment two focuses on Jane Fonda’s extremely tacky joke about murdering pro-lifers and the resulting commentary by some of her supporters. People should call out irresponsible attempts at humor no matter how much they agree in general with the guilty party.

Finally, Jay addresses a story shared by a college student about a guest speaker who warned a classroom of young scholars that the Dobbs v Jackson decision put women’s right to vote at risk. Again, accountability matters, and reckless claims must be challenged even when we otherwise agree with those making the claims.

Episode 5 of Human Things 2.0 starts with a rousing defense of the work of Hall & Oats including slightly messing up the names of two of their songs. Segment 2 discusses a short clip from a 2018 Oxford Union Panel on Abortion Rights where pro-abortion activist Ilyse Hogue of NARAL makes the claim that most people believe in three exceptions to restricting abortion: life of the mother, rape, and me. Her point, though most people seem to believe abortion is morally unpleasant, they wish to preserve the ability to get abortions in the event they personally need to access abortion in the future. Abortion is wrong in general, but personal circumstances make individuals feel justified in seeking abortion. She has a point. The final segment welcomes author and journalist Leah Savas of World News Group to discuss the book she co-authored with Marvin Olasky, The Story of Abortion in America.

On this episode, Jay is going Eric Carmen style, all by himself. Bad Movie Night gets explained, Streets of Fire comes up (not for the last time), and midi-chlorians are identified as the bane of the Star Wars universe.

 

On a more serious note, segment two evaluates the actions of 19th century abortionists through the criteria of principled civil disobedience against unjust laws restricting abortion. Their character and behavior reveal them to be unprincipled and primarily driven by self-interest with some monstrous results.

 

Segment three offers a broad discussion of bodily autonomy arguments as the best the pro-choice side offers with a distinction between moral arguments and legal arguments and short introduction to the problems of these two approaches.

On this episode, we discuss the idea of making a case for making a case for life. Why do those opposed to abortion engage this issue with such passion? Because the right or wrong of abortion centers on how we answer one question, “Is the unborn one of us?” People who agree that it is wrong to kill one of us share a common intuition, human life matters. All parties must address the question of the unborn before declaring abortion is either an absolute right or a grave moral wrong. Por-life advocates believe the unborn is one of us, and we advocate for their dignity as we would any other human life being unnecessarily destroyed. Later in the episode, Christen Polo of Protect Life Michigan joins the podcast to share about the efforts to reach the state of Michigan with a life affirming message in opposition to Proposal 3.

This episode addresses despair and community. We discuss how assessing human dignity through instrumental criteria or immediately practicable capacities leads to troubling issues in end of life care. The view that all human beings have value by virtue of what we are, intrinsic dignity grounded in our humanity, ought to lead to stronger community and better care for everyone. Then Jonathan Noyes from Stand to Reason joins us to discuss suicide and three things he most want us to know surrounding that issue.

Human Things C.S. Lewis Society by Jay Watts

Merely Human Moment Believe Them by Jay Watts

MHM Human Things #5 - Beautiful Things by Jay Watts

MHM Human Things #4 - Arguing and the Airing of Grievances by Jay Watts

The fear of pain and suffering is often used to justify terrible decisions. This episode explores experiencing pain with hope and whether a life without it is possible or even desirable.