Abstract

This is a statement and defence of an ethical and social philosophy which the author terms ‘critical humanism’, which may be described in very general terms as the view of life and human problems which one finds in The Guardian and the London ‘quality Sundays’. Freedom is a good thing; all men are equal; poverty and distress must be relieved as far as possible; democracy is the best system of government. Other good things are : divorce, contraception, euthanasia, abortion. Dr Milne makes one addition to the list : suicide. And he would allow criminals to choose suicide as an alternative to life imprisonment.