Sins of the Flesh
Unlike previous books on the history of vegetarianism, Sins ofthe Flesh examines the history of vegetarianism in its ethicaldimensions, from the origins of humanity through to the present.
Full ethical consideration for animals resulting in the eschewing offlesh arose after the Aristotelian period in Greece and recurred inAncient Rome, but then mostly disappeared for centuries. Despite theoccasional presence of ascetic and cultural vegetarianism, it was notuntil the turn of the nineteenth century that vegetarian thought wasrevived and enjoyed some success; it subsequently went into anotherperiod of decline that lasted through much of the twentieth century.The authority-questioning cultural revolution of the 1960s brought afresh resurgence of vegetarian ethics that continues to the presentday.
Sins of the Flesh is a ground-breaking history of ethicalvegetarianism that will appeal to all readers concerned withhuman-animal relations and the foundations of animal rights.
In the field of animal studies, Rod Preece is a world-renowned scholar, and this current volume confirms that his reputation is well deserved.
Preece’s nuanced assessments of this history are worthy of consideration by both animal rightists and their opponents.
The issue of our ethical obligations to nonhuman animals has been the subject of lively debate, and many books have been written on the subject. Sins of the Flesh will be an important addition to this literature.
Vegetarianism
1: The Human in Prehistory
2: Eastern Religions and Practice
3: Pythagoreanism
4: Greek Philosophy and Roman Imperium
5: Judaism and The Earlier Christian Heritage
6: Bogomils, Cathars, and the Later Medieval Mind
7: The Humanism of the Renaissance
8: The Cartesians and their Adversaries in the Seventeenth and
Eighteenth Centuries
9: Preaching without Practising: From Mandeville and Pope to Goldsmith
and Wagner
10: Militant Advocates: From Oswald and Ritson to Shelley, Phillips,
and Gompertz
11: The Victorians, the Edwardians, and the Founding of the Vegetarian
Society
12: Vegetarians and Vegans in the Twentieth Century
13: Vegetarianism in North America
Postscript: Prospects
