Human beings, as history demonstrates, have the capacity to commit horrible acts upon one another, despite powerful inhibitions against such behavior. To by-pass our conscience, we humans often "dehumanize" our perceived enemy, and choose to view them as creatures that must be harmed to destroyed. This is the case made by Portland author David Livingstone Smith in his new book Less Than Human: Why Humans Demean, Enslave and Exterminate Each Other The phenomenon of dehumanization, he argues, dates back thousands of years before the Holocaust, and is still with us today. He spoke recently with Keith Shortall.

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David Livingstone Smith is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of New England, and the author of Less Than Human: Why Humans Demean, Enslave and Exterminate Each Other. He spoke recently with Keith Shortall.

David Livingstone Smith's website

NPR Books' review of David Livingstone Smith's Less Than Human: Why Humans Demean, Enslave and Exterminate Each Other