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Making Monsters: The Uncanny Power of Dehumanization
Harvard University Press, 2021
Winner of the 2023 Joseph B. Gittler Award, given for an outstanding scholarly contribution in the field of the philosophy of one or more of the social sciences.
Finalist for the 2023 Nayaf Al-Rodhan award for transdisciplinary philosophy.
“I wouldn’t have accepted that they were human beings. You would see an infant who’s just learning to smile, and it smiles at you, but you still kill it.” So a Hutu man explained to an incredulous researcher, when asked to recall how he felt slaughtering Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994. Such statements are shocking, yet we recognize them; we hear their echoes in accounts of genocides, massacres, and pogroms throughout history. How do some people come to believe that their enemies are monsters, and therefore easy to kill?
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Praise for Making Monsters
"Throughout human history, the belief that others are less than human has led to unspeakable horrors: pogroms, genocides, and massacres. Yet systematic research into the nature of dehumanization has been scant: we unquestionably assume we know what goes through people’s minds when they believe others should be treated as subhuman. David Livingstone Smith’s illuminating Making Monsters: The Uncanny Power of Dehumanization undercuts this lazy (and dangerous) assumption, particularly its scholarly versions, as it presses home its compelling argument that all of us are potential dehumanizers.”-- Bill Marx, Arts Fuse
“Making Monsters is a historically informed and theoretically rich exploration of how and why we dehumanize one another. Scientifically sophisticated and interdisciplinary in scope, Smith’s vivid use of examples transforms his book from a valuable scholarly treatise into an urgent and timely manifesto.” ― Charlotte Witt, author of The Metaphysics of Gender
“Most of us cannot grasp how anyone could participate in the brutal violence of genocide and heinous crimes against humanity. If you’ve ever wondered “How could they?”, David Livingstone Smith’s brilliant Making Monsters will help you understand the callous brutality of race crimes and the psychology of dehumanization. With a steady hand and a crucial purpose, Smith calmly leads us through a wide swath of the worst of human crimes, and distills the research explaining the social and psychological mechanisms that enable ordinary people to do monstrous deeds into his own insightful account. Smith faces the horrors of the human heart, but, throughout his careful analysis, never loses hope. This illuminating book is a major contribution to the urgent project of understanding the psychology of dehumanization, in the hope of preventing future atrocities.” ― Lynne Tirrell, University of Connecticut
“A fascinating and rich book that combines philosophical and historical sophistication. Even—indeed especially—those who disagree markedly with Smith’s views about dehumanization, like me, will benefit from wrestling with his lucid, important arguments.”—Kate Manne, author of Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women
“No one is doing better work on the psychology of dehumanization than David Livingstone Smith, and he brings to bear an impressive depth and breadth of knowledge in psychology, philosophy, history, and anthropology. Making Monsters is a landmark achievement which will frame all future work on the psychology of dehumanization.” ― Eric Schwitzgebel, author of A Theory of Jerks and Other Philosophical Misadventures. “
"Making Monsters is a wonderful book in so many ways. It is thoughtful, scholarly, and accessible, comprehensive and compelling―a tremendous accomplishment that will enrich our understanding of some of the darker part of our human condition.” ― Lori Gruen, author of Entangled Empathy