--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we treat the earth as an object, we…" description: "\"“When we treat the earth as an object, we dehumanize ourselves.”\" — Craig Detweiler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06b/craig-detweiler-19935_dehumanize_when-we-treat-the-earth-as-an-object-we_2697258.jpg" --- # When we treat the earth as an object, we dehumanize… ![“When we treat the earth as an object, we dehumanize ourselves.” quote by Craig Detweiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06b/craig-detweiler-19935_dehumanize_when-we-treat-the-earth-as-an-object-we_2697258.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06b/craig-detweiler-19935_dehumanize_when-we-treat-the-earth-as-an-object-we_2697258.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06b/craig-detweiler-19935_dehumanize_when-we-treat-the-earth-as-an-object-we_2697258.jpg) > ““When we treat the earth as an object, we dehumanize ourselves.”” [Craig Detweiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-detweiler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Treating Earth as a thing strips humans of empathy, leading to exploitation. **In simple terms:** Objectifying nature dehumanizes us. Key Takeaway Cultivate reverence for nature. Themes environment ethics humanity objectification spirituality Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - environmental policy - education - personal lifestyle Key Concepts anthropocentrism eco‑psychology interconnectedness Questions to Reflect On - How does this view affect environmental action? - What alternatives exist? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex human‑nature relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dehumanize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dehumanize/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Earth Object](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth-object-2705107/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Object Dehumanize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/object-dehumanize-2705106/) [Treat Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treat-earth-1190204/) ## Related quotes > [Earth Day is coming up so treat the earth like you would room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/earth-day-is-coming-up-so-treat-the-earth-like-you-would-room/) [Kevin McCarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/) > [Treat everyone on Earth like you're staying in their home. Because you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-sincero/treat-everyone-on-earth-like-you-re-staying-in-their-home-because-you/) [Jen Sincero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-sincero/) > [How we treat the earth basically effects our social welfare and our national security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fowler/how-we-treat-the-earth-basically-effects-our-social-welfare-and-our/) [Jim Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fowler/) > [And that the best things that grownups do, we do for the children, and that they inspire great good in us. I also want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-soetoro-ng/and-that-the-best-things-that-grownups-do-we-do-for-the-children-and/) [Maya Soetoro-Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-soetoro-ng/) > [I would remind people on the planet that this is the only one we have, and we need to take care of it. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-schull/i-would-remind-people-on-the-planet-that-this-is-the-only-one-we-have-2/) [Amanda Schull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-schull/) > [The world is intertwined and we therefore have to be gentle in the way that we treat one another and the Earth, so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-soetoro-ng/the-world-is-intertwined-and-we-therefore-have-to-be-gentle-in-the/) [Maya Soetoro-Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-soetoro-ng/) > [Treat the Earth as though we intend to stay here](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispin-tickell/treat-the-earth-as-though-we-intend-to-stay-here/) [Crispin Tickell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispin-tickell/) > [Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crazy-horse/treat-the-earth-well-it-was-not-given-to-you-by-your-parents-it-was/) [Crazy Horse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crazy-horse/) > [We cannot expect to move forward or win anyone over to our side if we dehumanize the people we speak to. Productivity requires civility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-johnson/we-cannot-expect-to-move-forward-or-win-anyone-over-to-our-side-if-we/) [Mike Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-johnson/) > [When we deny the EVIL within ourselves, we dehumanize ourselves, and we deprive ourselves not only of our own destiny but of any possibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/when-we-deny-the-evil-within-ourselves-we-dehumanize-ourselves-and-we/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [I look at is as one single entity. I dehumanize the audience. This way, I don't get nervous, you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-hickey/i-look-at-is-as-one-single-entity-i-dehumanize-the-audience-this-way/) [Kenny Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-hickey/) > [“But on Kwajalein, the guards sought to deprive them of something that had sustained them even as all else had been lost: dignity. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-hillenbrand/but-on-kwajalein-the-guards-sought-to-deprive-them-of-something-that/) [Laura Hillenbrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-hillenbrand/) > [“There are two ways to dehumanize; the first is to strip people of all virtue; the second is to cleanse them of all sin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/there-are-two-ways-to-dehumanize-the-first-is-to-strip-people-of-all/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [When you objectify a person living with dementia, you dehumanize them. Once dehumanized, the person becomes a villain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-demarco/when-you-objectify-a-person-living-with-dementia-you-dehumanize-them/) [Bob DeMarco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-demarco/) > [“Any time we feel ourselves moved to outrage by the behavior of people we think of as them, have we, accidentally or deliberately, allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/any-time-we-feel-ourselves-moved-to-outrage-by-the-behavior-of-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Craig Detweiler > [“Google keeps their formulas secret even as they devour more of our habits. CEO Eric Schmidt believes that what customers want is for Google…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-detweiler/google-keeps-their-formulas-secret-even-as-they-devour-more-of-our/) [Craig Detweiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-detweiler/) > [This celebration of The Bible will inspire people around the world to rediscover a beloved text in new ways. This is a passion project…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-detweiler/this-celebration-of-the-bible-will-inspire-people-around-the-world-to/) [Craig Detweiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-detweiler/) > [For people who cannot get to church for various reasons, this is a great option. But it will always be a poor substitute for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-detweiler/for-people-who-cannot-get-to-church-for-various-reasons-this-is-a/) [Craig Detweiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-detweiler/) > [“A crying need for wisdom and discernment emerges in an era of too much information. What do we discover as we attempt to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-detweiler/a-crying-need-for-wisdom-and-discernment-emerges-in-an-era-of-too/) [Craig Detweiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-detweiler/) > [“Jacques Ellul suggested too much information creates a confused sense of impotence: The infinite multiplicity of facts that I am given about each situation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-detweiler/jacques-ellul-suggested-too-much-information-creates-a-confused-sense/) [Craig Detweiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-detweiler/) > [“There is the constant temptation to relate to the iPhone rather than our world. It is a convenient filter for screening calls, keeping colleagues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-detweiler/there-is-the-constant-temptation-to-relate-to-the-iphone-rather-than/) [Craig Detweiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-detweiler/) > [“Sam Lessin, project manager at Facebook, suggests, “We as a species in the last few decades have gotten three new superpowers. . . . We can literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-detweiler/sam-lessin-project-manager-at-facebook-suggests-we-as-a-species-in/) [Craig Detweiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-detweiler/) > [The bigger-is-better form of evangelism may have passed, .. The emerging generation has been so advertised, media-tised and oversold that the smaller, quieter and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-detweiler/the-bigger-is-better-form-of-evangelism-may-have-passed-the-emerging/) [Craig Detweiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-detweiler/) > [“Pop culture was repackaged with the iPhone in mind. Our news, information, and video feeds were reformatted to Apple’s specifications. In a Wired cover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-detweiler/pop-culture-was-repackaged-with-the-iphone-in-mind-our-news/) [Craig Detweiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-detweiler/) > [“We have been swamped by a tsunami of new technologies, without pausing to consider whether they are good or bad, helpful or hurtful. Are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-detweiler/we-have-been-swamped-by-a-tsunami-of-new-technologies-without-pausing/) [Craig Detweiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-detweiler/) > [“We can be completely ignorant about how or why something works and yet still relish the results.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-detweiler/we-can-be-completely-ignorant-about-how-or-why-something-works-and/) [Craig Detweiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-detweiler/) > [“What is the danger in the personalization era? Psychologists call it confirmation bias—“a tendency to believe things that reinforce our existing views, to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-detweiler/what-is-the-danger-in-the-personalization-era-psychologists-call-it/) [Craig Detweiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-detweiler/) > [“Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann laments, We who are now the richest nation are today’s main coveters. We never feel that we have enough;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-detweiler/old-testament-scholar-walter-brueggemann-laments-we-who-are-now-the/) [Craig Detweiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-detweiler/) > [“our beliefs invariably drive our decision making.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-detweiler/our-beliefs-invariably-drive-our-decision-making/) [Craig Detweiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-detweiler/) > [“We will still need to consider the implications of our blind faith in technology because the iGods’ promises did not point to or include…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-detweiler/we-will-still-need-to-consider-the-implications-of-our-blind-faith-in/) [Craig Detweiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-detweiler/) [Explore all 30 Craig Detweiler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-detweiler/) ## More Dehumanize quotes > [“Any time we feel ourselves moved to outrage by the behavior of people we think of as them, have we, accidentally or deliberately, allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/any-time-we-feel-ourselves-moved-to-outrage-by-the-behavior-of-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you objectify a person living with dementia, you dehumanize them. Once dehumanized, the person becomes a villain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-demarco/when-you-objectify-a-person-living-with-dementia-you-dehumanize-them/) [Bob DeMarco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-demarco/) > [“There are two ways to dehumanize; the first is to strip people of all virtue; the second is to cleanse them of all sin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/there-are-two-ways-to-dehumanize-the-first-is-to-strip-people-of-all/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [“But on Kwajalein, the guards sought to deprive them of something that had sustained them even as all else had been lost: dignity. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-hillenbrand/but-on-kwajalein-the-guards-sought-to-deprive-them-of-something-that/) [Laura Hillenbrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-hillenbrand/) > [I look at is as one single entity. I dehumanize the audience. This way, I don't get nervous, you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-hickey/i-look-at-is-as-one-single-entity-i-dehumanize-the-audience-this-way/) [Kenny Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-hickey/) > [When we deny the EVIL within ourselves, we dehumanize ourselves, and we deprive ourselves not only of our own destiny but of any possibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/when-we-deny-the-evil-within-ourselves-we-dehumanize-ourselves-and-we/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [We cannot expect to move forward or win anyone over to our side if we dehumanize the people we speak to. Productivity requires civility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-johnson/we-cannot-expect-to-move-forward-or-win-anyone-over-to-our-side-if-we/) [Mike Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-johnson/) > [Segregation is evil; there is no pattern of life which can dehumanize men as can the way of segregation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-smith/segregation-is-evil-there-is-no-pattern-of-life-which-can-dehumanize/) [Lillian Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-smith/) > [It's interesting to see the more femme that you present yourself, the more people sort of dehumanize you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-tranter/it-s-interesting-to-see-the-more-femme-that-you-present-yourself-the/) [Justin Tranter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-tranter/) > [ It \[culture\] invites people to diminish themselves, and dehumanize themselves by behaving like machines, meme processors of memes passed down from Madison Avenue, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/it-culture-invites-people-to-diminish-themselves-and-dehumanize/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The instant people specialize, it's in their interest to dehumanize the people their specialized function operates upon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/the-instant-people-specialize-it-s-in-their-interest-to-dehumanize/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [When you dehumanize a group, there's lasting consequences because they know that they're being dehumanized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-carville/when-you-dehumanize-a-group-there-s-lasting-consequences-because-they/) [James Carville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-carville/) > [“The obsessions of others embarrass and repel because they seem to dehumanize, to make the obsessed one robotic and alien and unavailable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-castle/the-obsessions-of-others-embarrass-and-repel-because-they-seem-to/) [Terry Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-castle/) > [Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coretta-scott-king/homophobia-is-like-racism-and-anti-semitism-and-other-forms-of-2/) [Coretta Scott King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coretta-scott-king/) > [There is a tendency to dehumanize kids that commit crimes. The system is focused on punishment, not on rehabilitation. These kids are the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/there-is-a-tendency-to-dehumanize-kids-that-commit-crimes-the-system/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) [Browse all 38 Dehumanize quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dehumanize/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When we treat the earth as an object, we dehumanize ourselves.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Craig Detweiler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-detweiler/when-we-treat-the-earth-as-an-object-we-dehumanize-ourselves/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dehumanize" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-detweiler/when-we-treat-the-earth-as-an-object-we-dehumanize-ourselves/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06b/craig-detweiler-19935_dehumanize_when-we-treat-the-earth-as-an-object-we_2697258.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06b/craig-detweiler-19935_dehumanize_when-we-treat-the-earth-as-an-object-we_2697258.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06b/craig-detweiler-19935_dehumanize_when-we-treat-the-earth-as-an-object-we_2697258.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When we treat the earth as an object, we dehumanize ourselves.” — Craig Detweiler", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Craig Detweiler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-detweiler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“When we treat the earth as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-detweiler/when-we-treat-the-earth-as-an-object-we-dehumanize-ourselves/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-detweiler/when-we-treat-the-earth-as-an-object-we-dehumanize-ourselves/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```