philosophy

Yesterday I had mentioned in passing how Romantic philosophy encouraged hiking -- and the love of animals, such as the dog you bring with you.

I thought this morning I'd give you a little more about the development of that philosophy in the 17th century. In his 1754 Discourse on Inequality Jean-Jacques Rousseau noted in the preface that animals, being sensitive beings, "ought to participate in natural right, and ... man is subject to some sort of duties toward them," specifically "one [has] the right not to be uselessly mistreated by the other."

Meanwhile, in 1791 John Oswald produced The Cry of Nature, or an Appeal to Mercy and Justice on behalf of the Persecuted Animals. That work is less popularly known than Rousseau's, and more direct to the purpose -- some quotes here.