48. David Livingstone Smith on the Psychology of Dehumanization - Roots, Rhetoric, Myths and How to Resist It

Listen to this episode from Humanism Now | Secular Ethics, Curiosity and Compassionate Change on Spotify. “The arc of history bends towards justice only if you keep pushing it in that direction.”David Livingstone-Smith, Ph.D.,  award-winning author, Professor of Philosophy at the University of New England and a leading authority on dehumanization joins us to unpack how ordinary people come to see others as “less than human,” why that shift makes atrocities feel morally necessary, and what practical tools can help us resist it. His books include Less Than Human (Anisfield-Wolf Award), On Inhumanity (OUP), and Making Monsters (HUP; Joseph B. Gittler Award; Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize shortlist).Connect with David Livingstone-SmithWebsite – https://www.davidlivingstonesmith.comNewsletter – https://davidlivingstonesmith.substack.com/University profile – https://www.une.edu/people/david-livingstone-smithMedia – https://www.davidlivingstonesmith.com/mediaTopics we coverWhat dehumanization is: conceiving others as subhuman creatures or monstersHow we hold contradictory beliefs (human and subhuman) at the same timeThe role of epistemic authority, leaders, “experts” and propaganda, in spreading dehumanizationWhy racialization often precedes full dehumanizationMoral framing of mass violence as “self-defence” against monstersEconomic insecurity and social fear as fertile ground for dehumanizing narrativesPsychological self-defense: recognizing our manipulabilityWhat actually helps: honest historical education, dismantling racial thinking, and a robust pressResources & further readingLess Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave, and Exterminate Others (2011) – https://wwwSend us a textThe Folium Diary Wants You! (to listen and have fun ;-)101 Nights of Storytelling! (Scheherazade on a budget). A show that will change the whirl.Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the showSupport Humanism Now & Join Our Community! Follow @HumanismNowPod | YouTube | TikTok | Instagram | Facebook | Threads | X.com | BlueSky Humanism Now is produced by Humanise Live, making podcasting easy for charities and social causes. Contact us to get starting in podcasting today at humanise.live or [email protected]: Blossom by Light Prism Podcast transcripts are AI-generated and may contain errors or omissions. They are provided to make our content more accessible, but should not be considered a fully accurate record of the conversation.