Impartiality and human values

August 28, 2025

In the dying days of the age of reason, we seem to cling to our belief that reason, disconnected from other human values such as ethics, common sense, intuition, humanism and a moral sense, is a sufficient guide to how we should act.

Reason might, for instance, be said to dictate that both sides of any argument should be permitted expression and that to do so reflects impartiality. This implies that impartiality is a value that should predominate over others such as morality, law and humanity. The assumption underlying this approach is that both sides of any argument have equal value, regardless of whether they fundamentally conflict with those other vital human values.

When this assumption is made, it leaves open the need to give equal time to arguments that are in direct conflict with law, ethics, morality and common sense. It also leads to allowing proponents of pedophilia, bestiality and murder have equal time and opportunity to promote their patently illegal and immoral activities. That clearly doesn’t happen, so the “impartiality” criteria already has cracks. That being so why should those committing war crimes and crimes against humanity be given equal time in the name of impartiality?