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Humanization In Forever Peace

Satisfactory Essays

In Forever Peace, Joe Haldeman presents the unsettling idea of humanization as a way to achieve world peace. Humanization involves “jacking” people together until overwhelming empathy makes violence repugnant. Humanization is detrimental since it eliminates feelings of guilt needed for moral advancement. Humanization prevents moral growth by diminishing feelings of guilt that people have for past transgressions. Once humanized, experiences are revisited without any psychological consequences. To a murderer, the memory of a triple homicide becomes merely “A vivid melodramatic memory, like a movie you saw a few hours ago” (Haldeman 203). Reliving these experiences—with the accompanying emotion of guilt—leads to refined moral judgement. Consequently,

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