As Jeffrey L. High suggests of the aesthetic-moral-philosophical project of the poet, dramatist, essayist, historian Friedrich Schiller (1749-1805), “The reconciliation of matter and mind (and any number of ostensible polarities) is a declaration of an ideal of reconciliation of self and nature as well as self and other, based on the conviction that the rational animal can exist for only one reason, namely, to pursue the loftiest ideals of reason in harmony with nature.” Schiller’s theoretical and creative works feature a universe of critters from the worm to the cow, from the rabbit to the tiger in a variety of situations and functions—both in the familiar context of the allegory for human nature, as well as in beings in their own right, who deserve to be tended with love and compassion. Frequently, animals are companions in suffering, whose vulnerability as beings perceived to be lower than the human being is likened to the suffering of victims of occupation, colonization, and other violences.

If one of the foundations of more inclusion scholarship is the capacity to feel and express compassion beyond difference, then Schiller teaches us that boundary between the human and animals is one more barrier to the state of universal happiness that must be overcome. Thus, there is good reason for students and scholars interested in a wide range of ecological topics—including speciesism, posthumanism, ecocriticism, new (vital) materialism—to look with fresh eyes at the works of one of Germany’s most important authors.

Below is a selection of quotes from Schiller’s works, organized chronologically, that illustrate some of the roles that animals play in the poet's conception of the relationship between the moral human being and nature. These quotes might supplement lectures on or seminar discussions of Schiller's works as a way of prompting discussion of artistic and philosophical responses to animal ethics.