Animal rights sounds like a modern idea, but in fact -- for over three millennia -- philosophers, theologians, and political theorists have grappled with the question of our obligations toward animals. This comprehensive and diverse anthology, the only one of its kind, illuminates the complex evolution of moral thought regarding animals and includes writings from ancient Greece to the present. Animal Rights reveals the ways in which a variety of thinkers have addressed such issues as our ethical responsibilities for the welfare of animals, whether animals have rights, and what it means to be human.

The preface by Andrew Linzey dispels many of the misconceptions about the animal rights movement. In light of the growing interest in animal rights, this volume is an indispensable resource for scholars and activists alike.

Animal Rights includes writings from Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Hegel, Marx, Kant, Bertrand Russell, John Stuart Mill, Nietzsche, John Rawls, Robert Nozick, and Peter Singer.