What allows a person to kill? What enables humans to treat the planet like a commodity? What stokes the fear we feel as a nation in moments of crisis? The theory of abstraction helps frame these important questions. Moreover, the process of 'Othering' is dangerous and leds to acts of dehumanization. In this short episode, I introduce Gabriel Marcel's theory of abstraction and discuss the views of Ikeda on the spirit of abstraction. Enjoy!