The atheist public intellectual, Steven Pinker, penned an influential essay nearly 20 years ago titled “The Stupidity of Dignity.” Pinker argues that appeals to human dignity are “squishy” and “subjective” and fail to support “the heavyweight moral demands assigned to it.” He prefers “autonomy” as an alternative.

Autonomy, however, is also subjective and squishy. Indeed, from a purely materialist atheistic perspective, we can’t coherently claim that autonomy exists because it’s not “matter.” Using autonomy to justify morality also means, unsettlingly, that babies, the elderly, the mentally and physically impaired, and, if we’re consistent, those who are asleep have little or no value because they are not fully autonomous.

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