Rodney John Charles Preece (August 15, 1939 – July 22, 2021) was an English-Canadian

political philosopher Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and legitimacy of political institutions, such as states. This field investigates different forms of government, ranging from de ...

and historian of

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...

and

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

. He was professor emeritus in the Department of Political Science at

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a Public university, public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo, Brantford, Ontario, Brantford and Milton, Ontario, Milton. The ...

. Preece authored and edited 19 books on topics including animal rights and welfare, vegetarianism, German politics, socialization in Europe, and political theory.

Biography

Early life and education

Rodney John Charles Preece was born on 15 August 1939, in

Cheadle Hulme Cheadle Hulme () is a suburb in the large village of Cheadle, Greater Manchester, Cheadle in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It lies in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Cheshire, south-wes ...

, England. He earned a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in Philosophy and

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Political Science from the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

Career

Preece went on to teach at the

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its Royal Charter, royal charter in 1966, along with a Plate glass university, number of other institutions following recommendations ...

and University of Leicester. He moved to Canada in 1969, to lecture for a year at the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...

; he later accepted a full-time position at the university. In 1973, he joined

. He was later Maurice Young Invited Research Scholar in the Centre for Applied Ethics at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

. At the start of his career, Preece's work focused on European politics, especially German politics, before moving on to political philosophy and ideology, particularly

conservatism Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, Convention (norm), customs, and Value (ethics and social science ...

. Starting in the 1990s and for the remainder of his career, he focused entirely on

and

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

. Preece authored and edited 19 books. His book ''Animals and Nature: Cultural Myths, Cultural Realities'', was short-listed for the Harold Adams Innis Prize, the Raymond Klibansky Prize for the best book in the humanities and named a Choice Distinguished Academic Title.

Roles in advocacy organizations

Preece served on the board of directors of the

Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The Ontario SPCA and Humane Society (Ontario SPCA) is a registered Canadian charity focused on animal protection and animal advocacy. In the spring of 2009, the Ontario SPCA introduced the model of high-volume spay/neuter to the Province of Ont ...

and served on the executive boards for the

Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics The Ferrater Mora Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics is an organisation based in Oxford which promotes animal ethics. History The centre was founded in Oxford in 2006 by Andrew Linzey, a member of the Faculty of Theology at the University of O ...

and the Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare, at the

University of Guelph The University of Guelph (abbreviated U of G) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College (1874), the MacDonald I ...

. He was also vice-president of the

Canadian Federation of Humane Societies The Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (CFHS), branded as Humane Canada, is a non-profit animal welfare organization in Canada, representing humane societies, SPCAs, and animal rescue organizations. The organization's stated goal is to pr ...

. Preece was also on the advisory board of the Christian Vegetarian Association.

Personal life and death

For many years, Preece owned an antique store in

Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (formerly Waterloo County, Ontario, Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto, but it is n ...

. He was married to Lorna Chamberlain, who predeceased him; they had two children. In 2013 Preece moved back to Cheadle Hulme after reuniting with his past girlfriend Janet Penny. He died there on July 22, 2021, at the age of 81.

Selected publications

* ''Animal Welfare and Human Values'' (with Lorna Chamberlain;

Wilfrid Laurier University Press Wilfrid Laurier University Press, based in Waterloo, Ontario, is a publisher of scholarly writing and is part of Wilfrid Laurier University. The fourth-largest university press in Canada, WLUP publishes work in a variety of disciplines in the hum ...

, 1993) * ''Animals and Nature: Cultural Myths, Cultural Realities'' (1998) * ''Awe for the Tiger, Love for the Lamb: A Chronicle of Sensibility to Animals'' (2002) *

William Hamilton Drummond William Hamilton Drummond, D.D. (August 1778 – 16 October 1865) was an Irish poet, animal rights writer and controversialist. Life Drummond, eldest son of William Drummond, surgeon, R.N., by his wife Rose Hare, was born at Larne, County Antrim ...

's ''Rights of Animals and Man's Obligation to Treat Them with Humanity'' (edited with Chien-hui Li; The Edwin Mellen Press, 2005) * ''Brute Souls, Happy Beasts and Evolution: The Historical Status of Animals'' (2005) * ''Sins of the Flesh: A History of Ethical Vegetarian Thought'' (2008) * ''Animal Sensibility and Inclusive Justice in the Age of Bernard Shaw'' (2012)

References

External links

Rod Preece on "Brute Souls, Happy Beasts, and Evolution"
- Animal Voices
Rod Preece, Jodey Castricano, and David Fraser - Bringing the Collective Together
{{DEFAULTSORT:Preece, Rod 1939 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian philosophers 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English philosophers 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian philosophers 21st-century English male writers 21st-century English philosophers Academics of the University of Leicester Academics of the University of Surrey Alumni of the University of Leicester English animal rights scholars British animal welfare scholars Canadian animal rights scholars Canadian animal welfare scholars Canadian political philosophers Christian vegetarians English expatriates in Canada English male non-fiction writers English political philosophers Historians of animal rights Historians of vegetarianism People from Cheadle Hulme Academic staff of the University of British Columbia Academic staff of the University of Waterloo Academic staff of Wilfrid Laurier University Canadian Christian writers English Christian writers