Demeaning, enslaving, exploiting, segregating, ethnic-cleansing,
collaterally damaging and exterminating non-related human groups, when
necessary to the security and prosperity of a group with power appears
to be in the intrinsic nature of humans.
It is doubtful whether Dr. Smith can add anything significant to our
understanding of this natural human propensity (which is neither less
than human nor more than human.)
Horrified by the carnage of WWII, we did take some strides in the right
direction by using our neocortexes to analyze the situation, but these
days we appear to to be reverting back to pre-WWII tribal mind-sets.
"Blood is thicker than water."
"Blood is thicker than water" is a German proverb (originally: Blut ist
dicker als Wasser.), which is also common in English speaking countries.
It generally means that the bonds of family and common ancestry are
stronger than those bonds between unrelated people (such as friendship).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_is_thicker_than_water
<http://www.google.com/url?q=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_is_thick\
er_than_water&sa=X&ei=JhtpTZ3VMor6sAPCpc1G&ved=0CAYQpAMoAA&usg=AFQjCNHaE\
8Adk1n36CkKS2BADlXZmhtMBQ>
--ED
Title: Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave, and Exterminate Others
Presenter: David Livingstone Smith, Ph.D. Associate Professor of
Philosophy, Dept of Philosophy and Religious Studies, University of New
England
When: Monday, February 28, 201112:00 PM - 12:50 PM Where: St. Francis
Room, Biddeford Campus
Description: 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
Admission: Free and open to the public. Contact: DGiuvelis@...
207-602-2888
Sponsor(s): Center for Excellence in the Neuroscience and Center for
Global Humanities
