Fear: The Roots of Dehumanization Among Human Beings

Abstract

Currently available research on dehumanization suggests that the antecedents of dehumanization can be attributed to two intrinsic causes at the cognitive and emotional levels, and three extrinsic causes at the level of power of others, external threats, and social relations. Such behavior of dehumanization and objectification of others, where we spend some attention to discover the common ground, may eventually lead us in one direction: Fear. When a person feels weak and threatened, he/she tends to do things that don’t see others as human beings to vent their aggression. In modern civilization, all human behavior stems from only two different, most fundamental motives, one of which is motivated by love and one by fear. Love is a product of the evolution of the human mind and consciousness, while fear governs the most basic physiological and survival needs of human beings.