Adam Gottlieb Weigen (1677–1727) was a German pietist, theologian and early animal rights writer. Weigan was the son of a surgeon and was born at Waiblingen in 1677.Sträter, Udo. (2011). ''Pietismus und Neuzeit: Ein Jahrbuch Zur Geschichte Des Neueren Protestantismus''. Band 36 – 2010. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. pp. 120–123. He studied theology at Württemberg but also took interest in anatomy and

natural science Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

. Weigen became a pastor and advocate of pietism in

Leonberg Leonberg (; swg, Leaberg) is a town in the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg about to the west of Stuttgart, the state capital. About 45,000 people live in Leonberg, making it the third-largest borough in the rural district (''Landkr ...

. He took up this post in 1705. Weigan was influenced by the writings of Philipp Spener. Weigen argued for a compassionate treatment of the animals from a Christian theological framework.Seidel, Ulrich; Dietrich, Hans-Eberhard. (2019). ''An der Seite der Tiere: Christsein und ein neuer Umgang mit der Kreatur''. Lit. pp. 102–103. In 1711, Weigen authored ''De Jure Hominis in Creaturas''. It has been described as "the first work ever to deal with the topic of animal rights as a general theme."Ingesman, Per. (2016). ''Religion as an Agent of Change: Crusades – Reformation – Pietism''. Brill Publishers. pp. 224–226. The book became known in Denmark and inspired

Laurids Smith Laurids Smith (12 April 1754 – 22 March 1794), also known as Lauritz Smith was a Danish clergyman, philosopher and early animal rights writer. He was Scandinavia's first known advocate of humane treatment of animals. Biography Smith was bor ...

. It was republished in 2008. Weigen moved to

Wahlheim Wahlheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It has 587 inhabitants and an area of . Geography Locat ...

, where he died in 1727.

Selected publications

*''De Jure Hominis in Creaturas'' (1711)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weigen, Adam Gottlieb 1677 births 1727 deaths 18th-century German male writers 18th-century German Protestant theologians German animal rights scholars People from Waiblingen