Contents of THE HUMANIST for March/April 1996
|
The Humanist
March/April 1996
Volume 56, Number 2 |
|
Upholding Human Rights and
Environmental Justice
by Aaron Sachs
Over the years, environmental and human-rights groups
active in the Third World have found themselves working at
cross-purposes and with seemingly incompatible agendas. Lately,
however, both groups have discovered how much they have in common.
Cover Story:
The Freedom of Susan Smith
by Thomas W. Clark
In the view of science, no being is exempt from the
great chain of causality; in the opinion of the law, however, we are
the uncaused originators of our own acts. The Susan Smith trial and
its aftermath point up the irreconcilable contradictions between
these two very different notions of "free will."
The Mute Speak
by Denise Noe
What is it like to have no voice or to be forced to
expend a Herculean effort to convey the simplest meaning? The works
of Stephen Hawking, Christopher Nolan, and Ruth Sienkiewicz-Mercer
can teach us all some poignant lessons on the subject of human
interdependency.
The Birth of A Nation in
Cyberspace
by John C. Rude
On May 24, 1993, the tiny African nation of Eritrea
declared its independence from Ethiopia after a bloody 30-year
struggle. Now a cyberspace community of expatriate Eritreans is
debating the terms of the new constitution—a thrilling demonstration
of "virtual democracy" in action.
A Letter to Pope John Paul
II
by Henry Morgentaler
In an open letter to the pope, the renowned
abortion-rights activist and 1975 Humanist of the Year condemns the
spate of recent anti-abortion killings and especially the reckless
and inflammatory rhetoric that feeds such violence—a rhetoric found
all too often found on the lips of religious leaders and in
statements from the Vatican.
The Sexist Circuits of
English
by M. J. Hardman
Do we find it difficult to be nonsexist because sexism
is actually "natural"? Or does the structure of our language simply
make it feel that way? A comparison of English with the language used
by an existing nonsexist society reveals a number of surprising
insights.
| 
