Richard Dean (1727 – 8 February 1778) was an English Anglican minister and early animal rights writer.
Richard Dean | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1727 |
| Died | 8 February 1778 |
| Occupation(s) | Minister, writer |
Dean was born in Kirkby Malham, Yorkshire.[1] In addition to being an Anglican minister, Dean was schoolmaster of Middleton grammar school.[2] He was first curate of Royton Chapel and curate of Middleton.[2][1] He is best known for his two volume book, An Essay on the Future Life of Brutes, which argued for animal rights and a future existence (afterlife) for animals from the Bible.[2][3][4] Dean argued that animal immortality followed logically and morally from animal sentience. He believed that animals had a sentient principle or soul and that and a loving God would not have created animals subject to pain if he had not intended to compensate their suffering with a future existence.[5]
Dean argued against the Cartesian view that animals were mere machines.[1] He argued for animal intelligence and asserted that animals live and suffer as humans do. He believed that this implied that man has a moral responsibility to animals. During his time not many writers held this view; however, Dean did acknowledge the work of John Hildrop.[1]
He died in Middleton on 8 February 1778.[1]
Selected publications
edit- An Essay on the Future Life of Brutes (two volumes, 1768)
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Grayling; A. C, Pyle, Andrew; Goulder, Naomi; Brown, Stuart C. (2007). The Continuum Encyclopedia of British Philosophy. Thoemmes Continuum. p. 802
- ^ a b c Sutton, Charles William (1888). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 14. p. 250.
- ^ Garrett, Aaron. (2000). Animal Rights and Souls in the Eighteenth Century. Thoemmes Press. p. 18. ISBN 1-85506-826-5
- ^ Perkins, David. (2003). Romanticism and Animal Rights. Cambridge University Press. p. 28. ISBN 0-521-82941-0
- ^ Richardson, Angelique. (2013). After Darwin: Animals, Emotions, and the Mind. Rodopi. pp. 38-40. ISBN 978-90-420-3747-2