''Animals' Rights: Considered in Relation to Social Progress'' is an 1892 book by the English social reformer

Henry Stephens Salt Henry Shakespear Stephens Salt (; 20 September 1851 – 19 April 1939) was an English writer and campaigner for social reform in the fields of prisons, schools, economic institutions, and the treatment of animals. He was a noted ethical vegeta ...

. It is widely considered to be the first explicit treatment of the concept of

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

Content

In the book, Salt argues against the idea of

speciesism Speciesism () is a term used in philosophy regarding the treatment of individuals of different species. The term has several different definitions within the relevant literature. A common element of most definitions is that speciesism involves t ...

, though the term was not coined for another 76 years. The book also argues against

vivisection Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for experiment ...

, misuse of horses and wild animals, hunting and fishing, and the fur trade, and in favour of

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism may ...

Reception

James H. Hyslop James Hervey Hyslop, Ph.D., LL.D, (August 18, 1854 – June 17, 1920) was an American psychical researcher, psychologist, and professor of ethics and logic at Columbia University. He was one of the first American psychologists to connect ...

reviewed the book contemporaneously for the ''

International Journal of Ethics ''Ethics: An International Journal of Social, Political, and Legal Philosophy'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal established in 1890 as the ''International Journal of Ethics'', renamed in 1938, and published since 1923 by the University of C ...

'', strongly praising the book's intentions "its spirit shows the finest feelings a moral being can possess" but also arguing that it failed to present a theoretical justification for the equal rights it presumes between humans and animals: "No fundamental position, philosophical or theological, is taken as ground for such rights, and hence we have only an exposure of certain logical weaknesses in the defence of existing practices towards animal life." Hyslop also argues that Salt conflates disparate ethical questions:

the book confuses three distinct problems which ought to be kept distinct from one another. (1) The abstract question of animal rights of any kind; (2) The question of their treatment as sensible beings, whether we accord them the same rights as man or not; and (3) The question of vegetarianism. The last question virtually assumes that they have equal rights with man. On the other hand, some can defend animal rights of a certain kind without including a prohibition of animal food. Then, independently of all questions of rights, others may insist on human conduct towards animals upon the grounds of man's duty to moral law in general.

In 1895, ''The William and Mary Quarterly'' said of the work: "Mr. Salt is undoubtedly ahead of his age by many years."

Editions

The first American edition published in 1894, included an essay "On Vivisection in America" by

Albert Leffingwell Albert Leffingwell may refer to: * Albert Leffingwell (physician) * Albert Leffingwell (novelist) Albert Fear Leffingwell (April 24, 1895 – 1946) was an American advertising executive and novelist. He wrote crime and mystery thrillers under h ...

. A reprint of the first edition of the book was published in 1980, with a preface by the Australian philosopher

Peter Singer Peter Albert David Singer (born 6 July 1946) is an Australian moral philosopher, currently the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University. He specialises in applied ethics and approaches ethical issues from a secular, ...

, who is well known for his work on the ethics of treatment towards animals (specifically in the book '' Animal Liberation''). The 1980 reissue prompted a review from Stephen Clark who praised Salt's book with some provisos. He states that Salt's attempt to blame the treatment of non-human animals on the theological doctrine of man having "dominion" over the natural world was mistaken.

References

External links

*
Animals' Rights: Considered in Relation to Social Progress
' at the Animal Rights Library * '' Animals' Rights: Considered in Relation to Social Progress'' at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

* {{Portal bar, Books, Animals 1894 non-fiction books Books about animal rights Books about vegetarianism English-language books George Bell & Sons books Vegetarian-related mass media