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Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Anthropology
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What Is a Human? - What the Answers Mean for Human Rights (Hardcover)
Loot Price: R1,180
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What Is a Human? - What the Answers Mean for Human Rights (Hardcover)
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What is a human? Are humans those with human DNA, those in
possession of traits like rationality, or those made in the image
of God? The debate over what makes human beings unique has raged
for centuries. Many think that if society accepts the wrong
definition of what it is to be human, people will look at their
neighbor as more of an animal, object, or machine-making
maltreatment more likely. In the longest running claim, for over
150 years critics have claimed that taking a Darwinist definition
results in people treating each other more like animals. Despite
their seriousness, these claims have never been empirically
investigated. In this groundbreaking book John H. Evans shows that
the definitions promoted by biologists and philosophers actually
are associated with less support for human rights. Members of the
public who agree with these definitions are less willing to
sacrifice to stop genocides and are more supportive of buying
organs from poor people, of experimenting on prisoners against
their will, and of torturing people to potentially save lives. It
appears that the critics are right. However, Evans finds that few
Americans agree with these academic definitions. Looking at how
most of the public defines humanity, we see a much more nuanced
picture. In a fascinating account, he shows that the dominant
definitions are unlikely to lead to human rights abuses. He
concludes that the critics are right about the definitions of a
human promoted by academic biologists and philosophers, and are
therefore justified in their vigilance. However, because at present
few Americans agree with these definitions, the academic
definitions would have to spread much more extensively before
impacting how the general public acts. Evans' book is a major
corrective to the more than century-long debate about the impact of
definitions of a human.
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