Regrettably, the language to describe our social cognition is based on the assumption that we only ever need to love or pity members of our own species. Thus, a person who for some reason does not inspire normal human compassion, is said to be dehumanized. Obviously, its not possible to dehumanize a horse because horses are already not human. Our vocabulary doesnt even allow for talking about compassion for animals - and lack thereof - without necessitating that we stray into the realm of anthropomorphism. All the same, Im going to give it a go.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Feb 2014 15:29:20 +0000