Richard D. Ryder
British psychologist who coined the word "speciesism" in 1970 to denounce the prejudice of counting only the interests of one's own species.
Life
Richard D. Ryder (born 1940) is a British psychologist, a member of the 'Oxford Group' that launched modern thinking on animal rights in the 1970s. He coined the word 'speciesism' in 1970 for discrimination based on species, and defends 'painism': the suffering of any being able to feel it grounds our moral duty.
Main works
Denounces the use of animals in scientific research.
A history of the animal protection movement and of speciesism.
Defends suffering as the basis of morality.
In his own words
« If all organisms are on one physical continuum, then we should also be on the same moral continuum. »
Positions
click a row to see the evidenceHis "painism": morality means reducing the pain of any sentient being, whatever its species, without adding up the pains of different individuals.
Ryder, Painism: A Modern Morality (2001)