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Title: Biological and Deeper Conceptions of Humanity: Solving the Paradox of Dehumanization
Abstract: When people deny that others are “human,” they often attribute distinctly human traits to them, giving rise to the paradox of dehumanization. For example, Nazi ideologues described Jewish people as “subhuman” while also portraying them as morally corrupt and conspiratorial—both distinctly human traits. To resolve this paradox, I distinguish two fundamentally different ways in which dehumanizers can regard others as deficient in their humanity. One involves seeing certain people as failing to possess the traits they are supposed to possess qua human. The other involves seeing certain people as essentially inferior qua human, but not as failing to be what they ought to be. I argue that in both cases, victims are categorized as “human,” while still being seen as deficient in their humanity. I conclude by suggesting that these two forms of dehumanization may converge in some cases, and that each may be invoked to rationalize different forms of hostility.