ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to provide a brief account of the major ideas that have informed or influenced human/animal relations for several centuries. It seeks to show how this thinking continues to pervade a good deal of present-day perceptions and practice. Greek, especially the approach of Aristotle, and Roman beliefs are considered, as well as the attitudes of a wide range of philosophical and religious teachings concerning the place and treatment of animals in society. These include St Thomas Aquinas, Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, and Kant. Religious doctrine—Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist—and the attitudes of indigenous peoples towards animals and the environment are discussed.
