Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.52685/cjp.26.77.1
Dehumanisation Through Slurs
Y. Sandy Berkovski
orcid.org/0000-0001-8926-5758
; Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey
Abstract
A claim sometimes made in the literature on slurs is that slurs dehuma- nise their targets. Here, I look at several different versions of this claim. I begin by examining and ultimately rejecting the idea that dehumanisa- tion is a form of disrespect, and that to use a slur is to treat the target, or to think of her, with disrespect, hence, to dehumanise her. Then I look at the idea that some select slurs are aligned, in thought and in action, with dehumanising treatment in genocide. I argue that the theoretical justification of this claim is confusing, while the empirical evidence is sketchy at best. I conclude by arguing that, in general, the prospects for aligning slurs and dehumanisation are dim.
Keywords
Dehumanisation; slurs; respect; genocide; perception.
Hrčak ID:
347237
URI
Publication date:
19.5.2026.
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