Why Anti-Human Sentiment Is Rising—and How to Cope With Disgust Toward Our Species

Your Mileage May Vary is an advice column offering a unique framework for navigating moral dilemmas through value pluralism—the idea that each person holds multiple, equally valid values that often conflict.

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This Week’s Reader Question

Condensed and edited for clarity, here’s the reader’s submission:

We claim to cherish the natural world. Yet every great achievement, story, and cup of coffee has done nothing for any other creature but ourselves. So when the existence of the human race comes at the cost of everything else—and when the hypocrisy is undeniable—how am I supposed to look anyone in the eye or feel good about participating in a world where every human act is at the expense of the natural world that birthed us?

I’ve lost the will. I realize this sounds infantile. But the numbers are in, and I’m no longer sure what we think we’re doing as a species other than trying to create the perfect consumer, the world be damned. We’re addicted to ‘self,’ and I’m frankly disgusted to be a human.

Dear Anti-Human Human

Underneath your feelings of disgust, anger, or loathing likely lie softer emotions: disappointment, sadness, or fear about the future. It’s hard to sit with those because they make us vulnerable. It’s far easier to bypass them and jump straight to hate.

Judging your own species may not be enjoyable, but it does offer a fleeting sense of moral superiority. This isn’t new. Throughout history, countless people have looked at humanity and responded with a resounding ‘yuck.’

Historical Roots of Anti-Humanism

As early as the 17th century BCE, humans projected their self-disgust onto the divine, imagining that gods found us so repulsive that a Great Flood was necessary to wipe us from the Earth. Only a select few were deemed worthy of survival—such as Atraḥasis’s family in the Mesopotamian account or Noah’s family in the Bible’s later retelling.

Anti-humanism has surged repeatedly during civilizational crises, from the bubonic plague in 14th-century Europe to the Wars of Religion in the 17th century and the Atomic Age in the 20th century.

Modern Resurgence in the Climate Crisis

Today, anti-humanism is experiencing another rise, particularly among some environmental activists who view the end of Homo sapiens as a solution to ecological destruction. Even movements like the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement advocate for ceasing human reproduction to allow nature to reclaim the planet.

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