David Livingstone Smith is Professor of Philosophy at the University of New England in Maine. He has published nine books, including On Inhumanity and Less Than Human, which won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for contributions to the understanding of racism and appreciation of diversity.
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*
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*
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*
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*
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, Smith leads us through a wide swath of the worst of
human crimes and distills into his own insightful account the
research explaining the social and psychological mechanisms that
enable ordinary people to do monstrous deeds. 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*
Illuminating…It is cutting insights…along with thoughtful
speculations on how dehumanization is nurtured—through racism,
ideology, and the power of hierarchical structures—that makes this
such an invaluable study, particularly at this time.
*Arts Fuse*
In this book, David Livingstone Smith’s concern is how human beings
can come to conceive of other human beings ‘as subhuman
creatures’—a phenomenon that is not limited to a single culture or
a specific, isolated historical period…A very worthwhile read.
*Human Rights Quarterly*
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