Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave, and Exterminate Others

David Smith earned his Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of London (Kings College) where he did work on the philosophy of mind and philosophy of psychology. These studies introduced him to the significance of evolutionary biology for understanding human nature, enabling him to come full circle by fusing his interest in the human mind with his earlier love of the natural world.

His book Less Than Human gives a revelatory look at why we dehumanize each other, with stunning examples from world history as well as today's headlines. “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.

“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

“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 scholarship is broad, the insight is deep and the prose is compelling. Less Than Human will change the way you think about things that matter profoundly. This is dazzling stuff.”-- Steven E. Landsburg, Ph.D., author of The Big Questions