Rollin's scholarly interests include both traditional philosophy and applied philosophy. In addition to numerous articles in the history of philosophy, philosophy of language, ethics and bioethics, he is the author of Natural and Conventional Meaning (1976), Animal Rights and Human Morality (1981, 1993 & 2006), The Unheeded Cry: Animal Consciousness, Animal Pain and Scientific Change (1988 &1998), Farm Animal Welfare (1995),The Frankenstein Syndrome (1995), Science and Ethics (2006), and Putting the Horse Before Descartes (2011). He has edited a two volume The Experimental Animal in Biomedical Research (1989 & 1995). He is one of the leading scholars in animal rights and animal consciousness and has lectured over 1500 times all over the world. He is a weight-lifter, horseman, and motorcyclist.