Overview

In the late nineteenth century, a number of prominent reformers were
influenced by what Edward Carpenter called the larger
socialism. They would not only address the bread and
cheese concerns of orthodox socialism, they intended to
completely transform society, including the place of animals within
it.

To open a window on late Victorian ideas about animals, Rod Preece
explores what he calls radical idealism and animal sensibility in the
work of George Bernard Shaw, the acknowledged prophet of modernism and
conscience of his age. Preece examines Shaw's reformist thought
-- particularly the notion of inclusive justice, which aimed to
eliminate the suffering of both humans and animals -- in relation to
that of fellow reformers such as Howard Williams, Edward Carpenter,
Annie Besant, Anna Kingsford, and Henry Salt and the Humanitarian
League. Shaw's philosophy of Creative Evolution, Preece argues,
was a dimension of socialist thought in response to Darwinism.

Preece's fascinating account of the characters and crusades that
shaped Shaw's philosophy sheds new light not only on modernist
thought but also on an overlooked aspect of the history of the animal
rights movement.

Rod Preece is professor emeritus at Wilfrid Laurier
University and is the author of a number of books, including Brute
Souls, Happy Beasts, and Evolution and Sins of the Flesh.

Full Product Details

Author:   Rod Preece
Publisher:   University of British Columbia Press
Imprint:   University of British Columbia Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.499kg
ISBN:  

9780774821100

ISBN 10:   0774821108
Pages:   336
Publication Date:   15 August 2012
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock  
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Reviews

This book evidences the same meticulous and seamless scholarship that is characteristic of Rod Preece's other books. He never puts pen to paper until he has achieved a thorough mastery of the field of study. This volume will serve as a major scholarly contribution to the field. Within the history of animal ethics, it will set a standard for subsequent scholarship regarding the Shavian era.<br> - Bernard E. Rollin, Department of Philosophy, Colorado State University

Rod Preece is Canada's foremost historian and analyst of the animal rights movement, and he is well recognized internationally for his important work in this area ... This new book ... which illuminates the still largely unexamined history of the animal protection or rights movement ... will make [another significant contribution to the field. ? John Sorenson, Sociology Department, Brock University This book evidences the same meticulous and seamless scholarship that is characteristic of Rod Preece's other books. He never puts pen to paper until he has achieved a thorough mastery of the field of study. This volume will serve as a major scholarly contribution to the field. Within the history of animal ethics, it will set a standard for subsequent scholarship regarding the Shavian era. ? Bernard E. Rollin, Department of Philosophy, Colorado State University

Author Information

Rod Preece is professor emeritus at Wilfrid Laurier University and is the author of various books, including Brute Souls, Happy Beasts, and Evolution and Sins of the Flesh.

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