Nicholson, George

About the author: Rod Preece, Professor of Political Science at Wilfrid Laurier University, is currently Maurice Young Invited Research Scholar in the School of Applied Ethics at the University of British Columbia. He holds a doctoral degree from the University of Leicester and is the author and editor of books on German politics, European socialization and political theory. His most recent books are Animal Welfare and Human Values (with Lorna Chamberlain, 1993) and Animals and Nature: Cultural Myths, Cultural Realities (199)

George Nicholson’s on the Primeval Diet of Man (1801) - Vegetarianism and Human Conduct Toward Animals

2000 0-7734-7947-3
This book is a seminal contribution to the development of Enlightenment values concerning our responsibilities toward nature and toward other species. Rod Preece’s introduction provides an analysis of the historical context of Nicholson’s thought, its relationship to previous and contemporary literature, and its influence. Preece’s notes offer a detailed elucidation of Nicholson’s references, quotations and commentary. This examination of Nicholson’s work, in conjunction with Preece’s introduction and notes, allows the modern reader an unparalleled insight into the ideas that occasioned the early 19th century animal welfare legislation that promoted and protected the interests of non-human species.