Posted @withrepost • @righthandpath Artist: @cynical_coyote What was the literary giant’s position on Animal Rights? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ There is hardly an educated person in the world who has not heard of Leo Tolstoy – one of the most highly regarded, significant and emblematic writers and thought leaders in the history of humanity. Many are familiar with elements of his personal or social life. As a rule Leo Tolstoy was quite fearless when it came to voicing his religious, political or philosophical ideas and principles, which were in accordance with his personal standards of morality and spirituality. This would occasionally even place him in an antagonistic position in regards to the ruling regime, the church or even his own family. One of the remarkable things about his life (taking into account the time period he lived in) was that Tolstoy aspired to be entirely self-sufficient during the second half of his life, sustaining himself through work as a farmer or labourer – following the principles of the so called “tolstoyism” (the doctrine of the social movement based on Tolstoy’s moral and religious ideals). His genuine wish was to liberate his serfs from their obligations, despite the fact that he was born as a wealthy “noble lord”. The core motivation for all of his actions was the aspiration to help the starving and needy, to help humanity as a whole, and for himself to opt for a modest, peaceful and simplistic life as an honest worker. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ A fact which is much less heard of or talked about, however, is that Leo Tolstoy’s strong sense of justice, equality, compassion and morality extended to animals as well. He lived the last few decades of his life as a vegetarian and a vocal advocate of animal rights. It is important to note that during that period in history, the term “vegetarian” was often used to refer to people who abstained as far as possible from all products of animal exploitation or violence. The term “vegan” had not been defined yet and from what we know about Tolstoy’s views, continued below👇 #vegan #veganism #veganart #veganistisch #arnoldehret #drrobertmorse #leotolstoy #righthandpath https://www.instagram.com/p/B6NKcBGACCV/?igshid=1fu0l50168rf0
