Welcome to what I hope will become a resource for philosophers interested in hunting.

Plato: All men who wish to cultivate the 'divine' courage have only one type of hunting left, which is the best: the capture of four-footed animals with the help of dogs and horses and by your own exertions, when you hunt in person and subdue all your prey by chasing and striking them and hurling weapons at them...No one should restrain these genuinely 'holy' hunters from taking their hounds where they like and as they like...(Laws VII. 824, trans. T.Saunders.)

Xenophon: Therefore I charge the young not to despise hunting or any other schooling. For these are the means by which men become good in war and in all things out of which must come excellence in thought and word and deed. (On Hunting 18)

Xenophon: Envy not those either who recklessly seek their own advantage whether in private or in public life --bear in mind that the best of them, though they are favourably judged, are envied, and the bad both fare badly and are unfavourably judged. For engaged in robbing private persons of their property, or plundering the state, they render less service than private persons when plans for securing the common safety are afoot, and in body they are disgracefully unfit for war because they are incapable of toil. But huntsmen offer their lives and their property in sound condition for the service of the citizens. These attack the wild beasts, those others their friends...In fine, the politician whose objects are selfish practises for victory over friends, the huntsman for victory over common foes. This practice makes the one a better, the other a far worse fighter against all other enemies. The one takes prudence with him for companion in the chase, the other base rashness. The one can despise malice and avarice, the other cannot. The language of the one is gracious, of the other ugly. (On Hunting, XIII).

St Augustine: many animals would be superior to human beings since they surpass us in the keenness of their senses, in facility and speed of movement, in muscular strength, and in vigorous longevity...but...we are superior to the beasts by reason of our powers of reason and intelligence. (City of God, VIII.15)

St Augustine: Some people have tried to extend [you shall not kill] to wild and domestic animals to make it mean that even these may never be killed. But then why not apply it to plants and to anything rooted in the earth and nourished by the earth? For although this part of creation is without feeling, it is called 'living', and is hence capable of dying and being killed, when violence is done to it...We reject such fantasies, and when we read 'You shall not kill' we assume that this does not refer to bushes, which have no feelings, nor to irrational creatures, flying, swimming, walking, or crawling, since they have no rational association with us, not having being endowed with reason as we are, and hence it is by a just arrangement of the Creator that their life and death is subordinated to our needs. If this is so, it remains that we take the command 'You shall not kill' as applying to human beings, that is, other persons and oneself. For to kill oneself is to kill a human being. (City of God, I.20)

I will be adding to this site as and when...contributions (quotations, links to philosophical discussion on hunting will be gratefully received: william@william-venator.com)

This page is dedicated to outlining the ideas surrounding hunting as they are found in philosophical works.

It is meant for academic exchange and instruction.