Anna Kingsford, Vegetarianism, and Anthropocentrism

Stone, Alison (2026) Anna Kingsford, Vegetarianism, and Anthropocentrism. Journal for New Narratives in the History of Philosophy. ISSN 2819-8093 (In Press)

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Abstract

This article reconstructs the case for vegetarianism made by the Victorian philosopher and animal activist Anna Kingsford (1846-1888). After introducing Kingsford, the article sets out her four arguments: economic and health considerations; our need to avoid contamination by animal emotions; the virtue of non-violence; and our need to avoid sinking down to the level of carnivorous animals, and instead take up our properly human niche within the cosmos. These arguments were intended to form a systematic whole and map onto her four levels of the self: material body, astral or emotional body, individual soul, and spirit. This view of the self was integrated with her account of spiritual evolution and reincarnation. As a whole, Kingsford’s case for vegetarianism was anthropocentric: our spiritual task is to separate ourselves from the violence of nature and become perfectly human by living without violence, and without harming animals. This presents an interesting challenge to the current consensus that anthropocentrism is the root idea justifying our poor treatment of animals. Kingsford’s work suggests that while anthropocentrism can legitimise human exploitation of animals, it does not necessarily have to, while conversely claims about animal-human continuity may not always be beneficial for animals.