In this book, Rod Preece takes issue with the popular but simplistic view that the Western cultural tradition has encouraged attitudes of domination and exploitation toward the natural world, particularly animals. he contends that the much-maligned Western tradition has far more to commend it than is customarily recognized, and the much-vaunted ?Oriental? and Aboriginal orientations to animals and nature have habitually been described in a misleadingly rosy hue.

According to Preece, the West has often been misread, frequently for ideological reasons. He argues that Western...

As the most populous province in Canada, Ontario is a microcosm of the animal welfare issues which beset Western civilization. The authors of this book, chairman and vice-chairman, respectively, of the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, find themselves constantly being made aware of the atrocities committed in the Society's jurisdiction.

They have been, in turn, puzzled, exasperated and horrified at humanity's cruelty to our fellow sentient beings. The issues discussed in this book are the most contentious in animal welfare disputes -- animal...

Unlike previous books on the history of vegetarianism, Sins of the Flesh examines the history of vegetarianism in its ethical dimensions, from the origins of humanity through to the present.

Full ethical consideration for animals resulting in the eschewing of flesh arose after the Aristotelian period in Greece and recurred in ancient Rome, but then mostly disappeared for centuries. Despite the occasional presence of ascetic and cultural vegetarianism, it was not until the turn of the 19th century that vegetarian thought was revived and enjoyed some success. It subsequently...

Unlike previous books on the history of vegetarianism, Sins of the Flesh examines the history of vegetarianism in its ethical dimensions, from the origins of humanity through to the present.

Full ethical consideration for animals resulting in the eschewing of flesh arose after the Aristotelian period in Greece and recurred in ancient Rome, but then mostly disappeared for centuries. Despite the occasional presence of ascetic and cultural vegetarianism, it was not until the turn of the 19th century that vegetarian thought was revived and enjoyed some success. It subsequently...

In search of insight into late Victorian ideas about animals and the animal rights movement, Rod Preece explores animal sensibility in the work of George Bernard Shaw. Shaw's reformist thought?particularly what Preece calls inclusive justice, which aimed to eliminate the suffering of both humans and animals?emerges in relation to that of fellow reformers such as Edward Carpenter, Annie Besant, and Henry Salt. This fascinating account of the characters and crusades that shaped Shaw's philosophy sheds new light not only on modernist thought but also on the relationship between historical...

In search of insight into late Victorian ideas about animals and the animal rights movement, Rod Preece explores animal sensibility in the work of George Bernard Shaw. Shaw's reformist thought?particularly what Preece calls inclusive justice, which aimed to eliminate the suffering of both humans and animals?emerges in relation to that of fellow reformers such as Edward Carpenter, Annie Besant, and Henry Salt. This fascinating account of the characters and crusades that shaped Shaw's philosophy sheds new light not only on modernist thought but also on the relationship between historical...

In this book, Rod Preece takes issue with the popular but simplistic view that the Western cultural tradition has encouraged attitudes of domination and exploitation toward the natural world, particularly animals. he contends that the much-maligned Western tradition has far more to commend it than is customarily recognized, and the much-vaunted ?Oriental? and Aboriginal orientations to animals and nature have habitually been described in a misleadingly rosy hue.

According to Preece, the West has often been misread, frequently for ideological reasons. He argues that Western...

In this provocative inquiry into the status of animals in human society from the fifth century BC to the present, Rod Preece provides a wholly new perspective on the human?animal relationship.

Brute Souls, Happy Beasts, and Evolution traces the historical status of animals in western civilization, and shows that current scholarship in this area is seriously deficient. Preece particularly contests the customary claims: that the Christian doctrine has denied immortality to animals, with the corresponding implication that they were thereby denied ethical consideration; that there...