Thomas "Tom" Regan (November 28, 1938 – February 17, 2017) was an American philosopher and writer. He was best known for his animal rights activism. He wrote the non-fiction book "The Case for Animal Rights" (1983). He also made the term "subjects-of-a-life" popular. He taught philosophy at North Carolina State University (NCSU) from 1967 to 2001.