In the name of humanity

A senior Dutch civil servant once told me that his work for the government was for the ‘whole of humanity’. No lack of moral ambition, one might think. But it is precisely such a statement that raises an uncomfortable question: what happens when someone thinks, speaks or acts in the name of humanity?

Anyone who invokes the highest good quickly places themselves beyond the reach of contradiction. Who can object to all good intentions for ‘humanity’? It is precisely for this reason that this kind of language is attractive to administrators and scientists.

Three variants

In practice, we see three popular variants of this appeal to all of humanity: In the name of humanity, one can preserve one’s own moral purity. Hegel called this a schöne Seele: a morally pure consciousness that safeguards its purity by, above all, refraining from acting in real life.

Every action implies a choice, and every choice implies conflict. Thus, the beautiful soul withdraws from reality and ultimately dissolves into ‘a formless mist in the air’.. By invoking the whole of humanity, moral purity takes on its most convincing form.

In the name of humanity, one can also depoliticise reality. Those who invoke humanity imply that, ultimately, there is a single universal interest. Normative choices are thus reduced to problems with corresponding solutions.