Philosophical failing in denial of Pakistani humanist’s asylum claim

A statue of Greek philosopher Plato in central Athens. Photograph: Yannis Behrakis/REUTERS

You report that “A Pakistani man who renounced his Muslim faith and became a humanist has had his application for asylum in the UK rejected after failing to correctly answer questions about ancient Greek philosophers” (Pakistani denied asylum after he failed to answer Plato question, 18 January). The Home Office official who thought humanists could be expected to know about philosophy may have been in the grip of the false belief that philosophy is anti-religious, compounded by the logical fallacy of the undistributed middle as follows: “Philosophy is anti-religious; humanism is anti-religious; therefore humanism is philosophy.”
Paul Brownsey
Department of philosophy, Glasgow University

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