Richard Dean | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1727 Kirkby Malham, Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 8 February 1778 Middleton, England |
| Occupations | Minister, writer |
| Notable work | An Essay on the Future Life of Brutes (1768) |
Richard Dean (c. 1727 – 8 February 1778) was an EnglishAnglican minister and earlyanimal rights writer.
Dean was born inKirkby Malham, Yorkshire, around 1727.[1] In addition to being anAnglican minister, Dean was schoolmaster of Middleton grammar school.[2] He was firstcurate of Royton Chapel and curate ofMiddleton.[1][2]
Dean is best known for his two volume book,An Essay on the Future Life of Brutes, which argued for animal rights and a future existence (afterlife) for animals from the Bible.[2][3][4] He argued that animal immortality followed logically and morally fromanimal sentience. Dean believed that animals had a sentient principle orsoul and that and a loving God would not have created animals subject to pain if he had not intended to compensate their suffering with a future existence.[5]
Dean argued against theCartesian view that animals were mere machines.[1] He argued foranimal intelligence and asserted that animals live and suffer as humans do. He believed that this implied that man has a moral responsibility to animals. During his time not many writers held this view; however, Dean did acknowledge the work ofJohn Hildrop.[1]
Dean died in Middleton on 8 February 1778.[1]
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