David Livingstone Smith’s view on dehumanization cited in article in Chilean newspaper
The work of David Livingstone Smith, Ph.D., professor of philosophy, was cited in a May 11 article published in the Chilean newspaper El Mostrador.
Titled “Desacralizar la vida humana,” or “The desacralization of human life,” the article discusses how the concept of humans as superior to other animals has led to the extermination of hundreds of species, either through purposeful acts to rid the earth of them or through unintentional, albeit careless, actions that have led to extinction.
The author notes Smith’s argument that the classification of something as human imparts to it a sense of morality and that the denial of a creature’s humanity minimizes its moral status. She points to Smith’s contention that dehumanization is often a prerequisite to war, genocide, slavery and other atrocities.
Smith is the author of Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave, and Exterminate Others.