「動物解放」逐漸發展成為一項政治運動僅約四十年左右。雖然在其他傳統的哲學思想，尤其是佛教的教義裡，可以發現類似的思想，但此一運動之核心思想卻是興起於廿世紀末，並承襲了西方一貫反種族歧視與反性別歧視的自由主義傳統。本文將探究這項運動如何徹底地顛覆了主宰現代文明的西方早期思想：我將針對動物解放運動的倫理基礎進行描述、以及辯護，回顧此運動自1970年代萌芽至今的發展軌跡與進展，進而展望其未來前景。

Animal Liberation as a political movement is only 40 years old. Although the central ideas of animal liberation can be found in other traditions, and especially in Buddhism, it emerged in the late 20th century as a continuation of the Western liberal tradition of opposition to arbitrary forms of discrimination, such as racism and sexism. In this lecture I will explain how the movement was radically opposed to earlier Western ideas, which had come to dominate the modern world. I will describe and defend the ethical basis of the animal liberation movement, and the progress it has made since it emerged in the 1970s. I will close with some speculations about the future of the movement.