Seven Challenges for the Dehumanization Hypothesis

Propagandists often compare members of stigmatized out-groups to nonhuman entities such as rats, lice, and snakes. Drawing on these horrifying descriptions, the dehumanization hypothesis proposes that out-group members are viewed as less than human and that being viewed as less than human renders them vulnerable to harm. I offer seven challenges to the dehumanization hypothesis. I argue that, even in supposedly prototypical examples of extreme dehumanization, out-group members are not treated like nonhuman entities. Furthermore, although out-group members may be denied some human qualities and states, they are attributed others. I also argue that there is reason to doubt the hypothesized causal connection between being viewed as less than human and being at risk of harm—some nonhuman organisms are treated with great care, and some groups are harmed because of how their uniquely human qualities are perceived. I close by offering an alternative account of why out-group members are sometimes referred to as nonhuman entities.