Speciesism, Painism and Happiness: A Morality for the 21st Century - Softcover

"Speciesism is a prejudice like racism or sexism, only applied to our attitude to other animals. It sees humans as superior to all other species, and it sees glamorous rare animals as superior to common ones. But to the zoologist every living species is the fascinating end-point of millions of years of evolution and deserves our respect. I care as much about pigeons as I do about pandas, as much about sparrows as I do about sperm whales. "Painism" is not a little different. Ryder fashioned this one more recently, and it names his home-grown moral theory. There's a lot of ambition here. Painism is said to be the account the modern world needs. It "challenges utilitarianism and democracy," improves on its main rivals, creates "a fresh and unified moral outlook."--Desmond Morris "Times Higher Education "

"He argues that moral principles and ideals such as justice, freedom and equality, for example, are 'mere stepping stones to the ultimate good, which is happiness: and happiness is made easier by freedom from all forms of pain and suffering'."--Kailah Eglington "Resurgence "

"Speciesism, Painism and Happiness is charming and provocative, an enjoyable, stimulating, and memorable companion [T]he reader never doubts that he is reading a book about morality written by someone who knows what morality is about."--Steve F. Sapontzis "Journal of Animal Ethics, Vol. 4 (1) ""

"Speciesism is a prejudice like racism or sexism, only applied to our attitude to other animals. It sees humans as superior to all other species, and it sees glamorous rare animals as superior to common ones. But to the zoologist every living species is the fascinating end-point of millions of years of evolution and deserves our respect. I care as much about pigeons as I do about pandas, as much about sparrows as I do about sperm whales. "Painism" is not a little different. Ryder fashioned this one more recently, and it names his home-grown moral theory. There's a lot of ambition here. Painism is said to be the account the modern world needs. It "challenges utilitarianism and democracy," improves on its main rivals, creates "a fresh and unified moral outlook."--Desmond Morris "Times Higher Education "

"Speciesism, Painism and Happiness is charming and provocative, an enjoyable, stimulating, and memorable companion [T]he reader never doubts that he is reading a book about morality written by someone who knows what morality is about."--Steve F. Sapontzis "Journal of Animal Ethics, Vol. 4 (1) ""

"He argues that moral principles and ideals such as justice, freedom and equality, for example, are 'mere stepping stones to the ultimate good, which is happiness: and happiness is made easier by freedom from all forms of pain and suffering'."--Kailah Eglington "Resurgence "

"Speciesism is a prejudice like racism or sexism, only applied to our attitude to other animals. It sees humans as superior to all other species, and it sees glamorous rare animals as superior to common ones. But to the zoologist every living species is the fascinating end-point of millions of years of evolution and deserves our respect. I care as much about pigeons as I do about pandas, as much about sparrows as I do about sperm whales. "Painism" is not a little different. Ryder fashioned this one more recently, and it names his home-grown moral theory. There's a lot of ambition here. Painism is said to be the account the modern world needs. It "challenges utilitarianism and democracy," improves on its main rivals, creates "a fresh and unified moral outlook."

"He argues that moral principles and ideals such as justice, freedom and equality, for example, are 'mere stepping stones to the ultimate good, which is happiness: and happiness is made easier by freedom from all forms of pain and suffering'."

Richard Ryder created the term speciesism in early 1970 and shared the idea with Peter Singer, who popularised it in his classic workAnimal Liberation (1975). A key figure in the modern animal rights revival Ryder appeared on the first-ever televised discussion of animal rights (The Lion's Share, Scottish Television) in December 1970. He further promoted the ideas around speciesism in recorded discussions with Bridget Brophy, for the Open University, and in his contribution to the seminal philosophical workAnimals Men and Morals edited by the Oxford philosophers Stanley and Roslind Godlovitch and John Harris in 1971. From 1969 Ryder organised protests against animal experiments and bloodsports. He continued to promote his ideas about speciesism in leaflets and broadcasts, culminating in the publication of his Victims of Science in 1975 - a book that provoked debates in Parliament and on television and was described byThe Spectator at the time as "a morally and historically important book". Dr Ryder was elected to the RSPCA Council in 1971, first becoming Chairman in 1977. In 1980 he was founding Chairman of the Liberal Democrat Animal Protection Group, and later ran for Parliament, was Director of the Political Animal Lobby and then Mellon Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Tulane University. Ryder coined the term painism to describe his wider moral theory in 1990. He has several times broadcast on the BBC's Moral Maze.