Stephen R. L. Clark

Stephen Richard Lyster Clark (born October 30, 1945) is a British philosopher and international authority on animal rights, currently professor of philosophy at the University of Liverpool.

He specializes in the philosophy of religion, political philosophy, science fiction, and the treatment of non-human animals. He is the author of 14 books, including "The Moral Status of Animals" (1977), "From Athens to Jerusalem" (1984), "Animals and Their Moral Standing" (1997), "Biology and Christian Ethics" (2000), and "G.K. Chesterton: Thinking Backwards, Looking Forwards" (2006), as well as 60 scholarly articles, and chapters in another 75 books. He was chief editor of the "Journal of Applied Philosophy" for 11 years and remains a member of its editorial board.

Clark was till 2006 a member of the Animal Procedures Committee, [http://www.ukwizz.com/cgi-bin/s.cgi?cs=&q=Parliamentary+Group&ch=http:%2F%2Fwww.apc.gov.uk%2Fmembers%2Finterest.htm&fm=off] which advises the British Home Secretary on animal testing issues. He also belongs to The Boyd Group, a think tank set up by scientists involved in animal experimentation and activists opposed to the practice.

He is currently working on the philosophy of Plotinus during a research sabbatical funded by the Leverhulme Trust.

Education and academic positions

After leaving Nottingham High School in 1964, Clark attended Balliol College, Oxford from 1964-8, followed by a fellowship at All Souls from 1968-75. He graduated with a first class honours degree in Greats (Classics) in 1968 and was awarded his D.Phil. in 1973.

After Oxford, he lectured in moral philosophy at the University of Glasgow for nine years until he was appointed professor of philosophy at Liverpool in 1984. He has also been a visiting professor at Vanderbilt University and held an Alan Richardson Fellowship at Durham University.

Animal rights

Clark sits on the board of the Center on Animal Liberation Affairs, the first scholarly center set up to advance the debate about animal liberation. He has advanced pro-life views on abortion and embryo research ('The Moral Status of Animals', OUP 1977, p.74).

Works

*"Aristotle's Man" (Oxford University Press, 1975)
*"The Moral Status of Animals" (OUP, 1977)
*"The Nature of the Beast" (OUP, 1982)
*"From Athens to Jerusalem" (OUP, 1984)
*"The Mysteries of Religion" (Blackwell, 1986)
*(ed.) "Berkeley: Money, Obedience and Affection" (Garland Press, 1989)
*"Civil Peace and Sacred Order" (OUP, 1989)
*"A Parliament of Souls" (OUP, 1990)
*"God’s World and the Great Awakening" (OUP, 1991)
*"How to Think about the Earth" (Mowbrays, 1993)
*"How to Live Forever" (Routledge, 1995)
*"Animals and their Moral Standing" (Routledge, 1997)
*"God, Religion and Reality" (SPCK, 1998)
*"The Political Animal" (Routledge, 1999)
*"Biology and Christian Ethics" (Cambridge University Press, 2000)
*"G.K. Chesterton: Thinking Backward, Looking Forward" (Templeton, 2006)

References

*Dombrowski, D.A. "Not Even a Sparrow Falls: The Philosophy of Stephen R. L. Clark", Michigan State University Press , 2000. ISBN 0-87013-549-X
* [http://www.liv.ac.uk/Philosophy/staff/clark.htm Stephen Clark's webpage] , University of Liverpool
* [http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/~srlclark/srlc.htm Clark's C.V.]
* [http://www.animal-rights-library.com/authors-m/clark.htm Stephen R. L. Clark] , selected writings on animal rights.
* [http://msupress.msu.edu/bookTemplate.php?bookID=466 "Not Even a Sparrow Falls: The Philosophy of Stephen R. L. Clark"] , publisher's summary
* [http://www.templeton.org/humble02/participants.html Biography]
* [http://articles.animalconcerns.org/ar-voices/archive/on_their_side.html "On the side of the animals"] , an RSPCA leaflet including a summary by Clark of his view on animal rights

External links

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