Overview

"'Brute.' 'Cockroach.' 'Lice.' 'Vermin.' 'Dog.' 'Beast.' These and other monikers are constantly in use to refer to other humans - for political, religious, ethnic, or sexist reasons. Human beings have a tendency to regard members of their own kind as less than human. This tendency has made atrocities like the Holocaust, the genocide in Rwanda, and the slave trade possible, and yet we still find it in phenomena such as xenophobia, homophobia, military propaganda, and racism. ""Less Than Human"" draws on a rich mix of history, psychology, biology, anthropology and philosophy to document the pervasiveness of dehumanization, describe its forms, and explain why we so often resort to it. David Livingstone Smith posits that this behaviour is rooted in human nature, but gives us hope in also stating that biological traits are malleable, showing us that change is possible. ""Less Than Human"" is a chilling indictment of our nature, and is as timely as it is relevant."

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9780312532727

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Smith's compelling study and his argument that the study of dehumanization be made a global priority to prevent future Rwandas or Hiroshimas is well-made and important. -- Publishers Weekly Smith offers an impressively thorough survey of dehumanization. -- Barbara Ehrenreich, Los Angeles Review of Books In this powerful and original work--ranging widely and with impressive interdisciplinary scope over different epochs and cultures while remaining compellingly readable--David Livingstone Smith demonstrates that our practice of representing our fellow-humans as subhuman is both inhuman and all too human. He forces us to recognize that monstrous atrocities are routinely carried out not by monsters but, alas, by ourselves. -Charles W. Mills, Ph.D. author of The Racial Contract, John Evans Professor of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy<p> David Livingstone Smith produces a clear and illuminating vision of why human beings are the way we are and how we got this way. The scho

Smith's compelling study and his argument that the study of dehumanization be made a global priority to prevent future Rwandas or Hiroshimas is well-made and important. -- Publishers Weekly Smith offers an impressively thorough survey of dehumanization. -- Barbara Ehrenreich, Los Angeles Review of Books <br> Books like Smith's should be required reading for all with a social conscience, and his ideas ought to find their way into every school curriculum. - Valerie Curtis, Ph.D., Journal of Evolutionary Psychology <br> In this powerful and original work--ranging widely and with impressive interdisciplinary scope over different epochs and cultures while remaining compellingly readable--David Livingstone Smith demonstrates that our practice of representing our fellow-humans as subhuman is both inhuman and all too human. He forces us to recognize that monstrous atrocities are routinely carried out not by monsters but, alas, by ourselves. -Charles W. Mills, Ph.D. author of The

Author Information

"Dr. David Livingstone Smith is the author of ""Why We Lie"" and ""The Most Dangerous Animal."" He is professor of philosophy and cofounder and director of the Institute for Cognitive Science and Evolutionary Studies at the University of New England. He and his wife live in Portland, Maine."

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