Exploring Evolutionary Hypotheses of Sentience

This is a selection of highlights from episode #198 of The 80,000 Hours Podcast. These aren't necessarily the most important, or even most entertaining parts of the interview — and if you enjoy this, we strongly recommend checking out the full episode:

Meghan Barrett on challenging our assumptions about insects

And if you're finding these highlights episodes valuable, please let us know by emailing podcast@80000hours.org.

Highlights:

• Luisa’s intro (00:00:00)
• Size diversity (00:00:16)
• Offspring, parental investment, and lifespan (00:03:18)
• Headless cockroaches (00:06:13)
• Is self-protective behaviour a reflex? (00:08:50)
• If insects feel pain, is it mild or severe? (00:11:54)
• Evolutionary perspective on insect sentience (00:16:53)
• How likely is insect sentience? (00:20:25)

Highlights put together by Simon Monsour, Milo McGuire, and Dominic Armstrong