
Sentientism
We discuss the biggest questions: "what's real?", "who matters?" and "how to make a better world?" with scientists, celebrities, activists, writers and philosophers.
The Sentientism worldview is "evidence, reason and compassion for all sentient beings." It's a simple, yet radical, philosophy that's grounded in reality (naturalistic epistemology) and has compassion for all sentient beings (mostly human and non-human animals). Naturalism & sentiocentrism combined.
Find out more at https://sentientism.info/ or join a group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sentientism. Also on YouTube!
Latest episodes

Feb 28, 2025 • 1h 17min
Baroness Natalie Bennett "You'll have less stuff in your life but you'll have far more life!" - Sentientism 222
Natalie Bennett is a politician and journalist who was the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2012 to 2016. She was given a peerage (Baroness in the UK House of Lords) in 2019 and is working to abolish her own post bycreating an elected upper legislative chamber. Her journalism in Australia, Thailand and the UK has been published in the Bangkok Post, The Guardian, TheIndependent, The Times and many other newspapers. Her latest book is "Change Everything: How We Can Rethink, Repair and Rebuild Society".In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the most important questions: “what’s real?”, “who matters?” and "how can we make a better world?"Sentientism answers those questions with "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is here on YouTube.00:00 Clips01:09 Welcome03:03 Natalie's Intro- "Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle for really formal occasions - this is not a formal occasion"- Leading @GreenPartyofEnglandWales & the "Green Surge"- "If we had a democratic electoral system... a fair electoral system... we would have got 40 MPs... democracy would be a good idea"- Journalism @guardiannews @BangkokPostOfficial - "My first politics is #feminism ... I became a feminist at age 5 because I was told 'because you're a girl you're not allowed to have a bicycle'"- "...consistently being told not only could I not do something because I was a girl... I shouldn't even want to do it because I was a girl."- "I swerved close to a PhD several times and then runscreaming in the other direction"... a broad academic background... agricultural science then Asian studies degrees then a masters in mass communications (Donna Haraway, AI- "What we have now, so called generative AI, is notintelligence it is actually big data... we almost had intelligence 20 years ago and we're still at the point of almost having intelligence... I'm very much an AI sceptic"- The environmental impact of AI- Politicians lacking scientific background is "a huge problem"06:59 What's Real?- "I'm very fundamentally... essentially a materialist... but what life generates is very complex"- Attending a church school & then Sunday School"the polite thing to do... the same grandmother... who didn't think I should ride a bicycle because it wasn't ladylike"- Sunday School at 8-9 yrs: "It was really boring... Isaid to my parents I didn't want to go any more and so that was the end of that"20:10 What Matters31:05 Who Matters54:13 A Better World?01:12:58 FollowNatalie:- NatalieBennett.org- @NatalieGreenPeer “I’m absolutely hyperactive on socialmedia“- Natalie’s Change Everything Substack – including a recent article on how the UK government are teaming up with Saudia Arabia on historical preservation as Saudi are working to erase much of their own history- Natalie on WikipediaAnd more... full show notes at Sentientism.info.Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at Sentientism.info. Join our "I'm a Sentientist" wall via this simple form.Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. The biggest so far is here on FaceBook. Come join us there!

Feb 17, 2025 • 1h 8min
"We don't have to wait until the 24th century for a Star Trek future" - Christopher Sebastian - Sentientism 55 - REMASTERED
Remastered audio! Originally published in May 2021.Christopher Sebastian is the director of social media for Peace Advocacy Network, sits on the Advisory Council for Encompass, is a senior fellow at Sentient Media, is co-founder of VGN, and lectures at Columbia University in the Department of Social Work for the graduate course POP: Power, Oppression, & Privilege. Using a multidisciplinary approach that includes media theory, political science, & social psychology, he focuses on how human relationships with other animals shape our attitudes about race, sexuality & class.https://www.patreon.com/ChristopherSebastianhttps://www.instagram.com/the_christopher_sebastian/https://www.christophersebastian.info/In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?” Sentientism is "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is here on the Sentientism YouTube.We discuss:0:00 Welcome1:20 Christopher's Intro - journalism, mass comms, digital research1:40 What's real - From christianity to atheism- Growing up in a religious family (Catholic, African Methodist Episcopalian) in the USA south- Attending Catholic school- Questioning Christianity particularly as a queer person "I knew I was very different from the other little boys"- Asking lots of questions. An early journalistic instinct?- Being shocked when a teacher refused to pray for a child's parent who had committed suicide. Universal compassion & love but "not for her!"- The binary contrast between a benevolent god & the vengeful, vindictive god- "The interia pulls you back to what's safe & comfortable"- Becoming atheist "I couldn't make sense of it", but still following Christian traditions- The social/family challenges of queerness & leaving religion- "Black church is really different - it's fun" music, dancing, sheer jubilation. "You can't avoid being caught up in the energy & fellowship"12:31 What matters morally?- "If you don't believe in god then you're just running around murdering, pillaging & raping like some sort of pirate!"- "We can be moral agents without believing in a higher being"- Without god there's an even greater obligation to treat each other with respect and compassion- If this is the only life we have isn't it even more valuable?16:55 Extending compassion- The more minoritised identities you have, the more aware you are of the need for being just & kind- Race, queerness, femme of centre- "You're aware there's a hierarchy. It requires us to be more benevolent to one another"- Including other animals was "just obvious"- Who gets to be in the club re: "personhood" (like "whiteness"), can move arbitrarily...And much more... (full notes on YT or Sentientism.info)Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at https://sentientism.info/. Join our "I'm a Sentientist" wall https://sentientism.info/wall/ using this form: https://sentientism.info/im-a-sentientist.Everyone interested, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. Main one: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sentientism.

Feb 11, 2025 • 1h 39min
A Joyful Journey Towards an Edenic Vision - Matthew Halteman of Calvin University - Sentientism 221
Matthew Halteman is professor of philosophy at Calvin University and a fellow in theOxford Centre for Animal Ethics. He wrote Compassionate Eating as Care of Creationand co-editedPhilosophy Comes to Dinner: Arguments about the Ethics of Eating (with Andrew Chignell and Terence Cuneo). His latest book,Hungry Beautiful Animals: The Joyful Case for Going Vegan, was published in November 2024.In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the most important questions: “what’s real?”, “who matters?” and "how can we make a better world?"Sentientism answers those questions with "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is here on YouTube.00:00 Clips01:12 Welcome- Our Sentientism guest mutuals: Jasmin Singer, Mariann Sullivan, Christof Koch, Elan Abrell, Christopher Sebastian, John Sanbonmatsu...04:19 Matt's Intro- "A kid from the mid-west - my people are agriculture people"04:30 What's Real- "A Mennonite boy... anabaptist tradition of the Christian faith"- "A group... who focuses much more on... the ethics than the meta-physics"- "I remember being really surprised... to realise that other kids had different versions of the Christian faith..."- "The tradition I grew up in was really focused on... god is love and Jesus said... love god with all your heart... love your neighbour as yourself"- "The question in my tradition... was 'are you loving people'... unconditional love, unconditional grace... are you being the hands and feet of Jesus Christ on the ground"- "My family... the group of Mennonite scholars that gets tapped to write the book about Mennonites... my dad was the Mennonite economist... my aunt was the Mennonite feminist theologian..."- "My uncle... wrote a systematic theology...the Catholics and the Protestants had been doing this for centuries and the Mennonites were always focused on what happens on the ground... being the hands and feet of Jesus showing unconditional love to a suffering world."- "I've always thought that arguments about what is real tend to distract us from the real question... how do we show love to our neighbour... lifts up the people who are suffering... brings the people on the margins to the centre"- "Culture wars... debates over worldviews... have not shown a very impressive track record of success in this regard"- "We spend so much time fighting over what is real that we miss the fact that in a lived experiential way we have way more in common than we disagree about"- "For finite, error-prone creatures like us the really interesting conversations are on the ground where we're grieving, where we're suffering, where we're celebrating..."And more... full show notes atSentientism.info.Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More atSentientism.info. Join our"I'm a Sentientist" wall viathis simple form.Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in ourgroups. The biggest so far ishere on FaceBook. Come join us there!

Feb 2, 2025 • 1h 30min
"There is no 'us and them' " - Yasmine Mohammed - Ex-muslim activist - Sentientism 51 - REMASTERED
Yasmine (https://twitter.com/YasMohammedxx & https://www.yasminemohammed.com/) is a rights activist, advocating for the rights of women living within Islamic majority countries. Yasmine founded Free Hearts Free Minds (https://www.freeheartsfreeminds.com/). Her book, Unveiled, recalls her experiences growing up in a fundamentalist Islamic household & her arranged marriage to a member of Al-Qaeda.
In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?” Sentientism is "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is here on YouTube.
We discuss:
- Growing up in a fundamentalist Muslim household in Canada, attending Islamic school, being dressed in hijab & niqab
- Being forced into marriage with an Al Qaeda member (now in prison in Egypt), considered "strong enough to control me"
- Questioning things from a young age
- The isolation of some religious communities even in secular states
- Having a daughter & that being a catalyst for change
- Escaping from husband & family
- Going to university & learning about religions. The intoxication of being allowed to question
- "I've been wasting my whole life terrified of a figment of the imagination of some ancient man"
- "You spend so much of your life ruled by a fairy tale"
- What's real? Believing in Islam
- "It's embarrassing to admit I really did believe these things"
- "You're indoctrinated from birth... & punished for questioning"
- "You believe or you burn in hell"
- "Every aspect of your life is laid out... Questioning is challenging god himself. So you must submit"
- The life of Mohammed. The Quran as the word of god
- "You don't think 'is this a good thing to do?' you think 'is this the correct thing to do?'"
- What's real? Leaving Islam
- Taking off the hijab & being told "you need to be killed before you leave Islam" by her mother, "I will be punished for eternity for having a daughter who is an infidel"
- How a Jehovah's Witness mother might allow their child to die rather than allow a blood transfusion
- Abraham's willingness to kill his own son
- "Honour killings" (murders)
- Religious compliance as above "ordinary morality"
- Studying religion, seeing 9/11 happen & being horrified
- Seeing a BBC reporter find Bin-Laden documents mentioning Yas' ex-husband's firm
- "I needed to get my daughter out of that world before she started to think that was OK"
- Hints of fundamentalism in the atheist movement
- Appearing in Jay Shapiro's film "Islam & the future of tolerance" w/Sam Harris & Maajid Nawaz
- "Meditation saved my life"
- Humility & open-mindedness at the heart of naturalism
- And more... (see YouTube for full notes)
Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at https://sentientism.info/. Join our "wall" https://sentientism.info/wall/ w/this form: https://sentientism.info/im-a-sentientist.
Everyone interested, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. Main one: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sentientism. Thanks Graham https://twitter.com/cgbessellieu.

Jan 25, 2025 • 1h 33min
The Wood-wide Web and Do Plants Feel Pain? - forest ecologist Justine Karst - Sentientism 220
Justine Karst, an Associate Professor at the University of Alberta and President of the International Mycorrhiza Society, dives into the fascinating world of mycorrhizal networks. She explores the ‘Wood Wide Web,’ explaining how trees communicate and share resources through fungi. The discussion highlights the ethical dimensions of our relationship with nature, questioning if plants can feel pain. Justine also reflects on her upbringing and the influence of faith, advocating for a deeper understanding of interconnectedness and our moral responsibilities toward all sentient beings.

Jan 24, 2025 • 1h 27min
“How do you find meaning in a universe that’s doomed?” - Astrophysicst Dr. Katie Mack @AstroKatie - Sentientism 144 - REMASTERED
Katie is a theoretical cosmologist who holds the Hawking Chair in Cosmology and Science Communication at Perimeter Institute. Her academic research investigates dark matter, vacuum decay and the epoch of reionisation. Katie is also a popular science communicator who participates in social media and regularly writes for Scientific American, Slate, Sky & Telescope, Time and Cosmos. She is the author of the book “The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking)”
In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “who matters?”
Sentientism is "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is here on YouTube.
We discuss:
00:00 Welcome
01:58 Katie's Intro
- #cosmology & #astrophysics
- "The study of the universe from beginning to end from the smallest to the largest scales"
- #darkmatter, the beginning of the universe & the end of the universe
- Research & public engagement
03:33 What's Real?
- Growing up going to church & youth group & #bible study
- United Church of Christ... liberal & open-minded #socialjustice #lgbtq rights
- Useful guidelines for life but "I never really understood how faith works... believing things without evidence"
- Exploring different religious traditions e.g. #judaism "attending church on Sunday mornings and synagogue on Friday nights"
- "I always wanted to believe something... there's a fundamental urge most humans have to connect with the divine... #spirituality of some kind... the problem was I didn't believe in anything"
- Connecting with religious songs, prayer, rituals about forgiveness & bettering yourself...
- Being told "just believe"... "I don't know how to do that!"
- "I believe things if I see evidence for them... if I have some reason"
- A scientifically curious kid
- "The way I relate to the world... is through evidence"
- "I don't fundamentally grasp the concept of choosing your perceptions... choosing your beliefs. I don't think I can do that"
- Ontological & epistemological naturalism
- "I haven't had a spiritual experience... I assume I would write it off as something explainable through psychology and physics... but I can't say for certain"
- Enrolling in a #theology seminary school after graduating in physics: "wanting to understand religion... why people believe in things... I dropped out after 6 months"
- "I've done everything... went to every service... went to seminary... I did all the things and still god has not appeared to me in any way... I was a little bit jealous... that certainty, that feeling of peace... you are loved by the most powerful being in the cosmos... that sounds really cool... sign me up"
- "I could follow all the rules... I couldn't believe"
...and much more. Full show notes at Sentientism.info.
Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at Sentientism.info. Join our "I'm a Sentientist" wall via this simple form.
Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. The biggest so far is here on FaceBook. Come join us there!

Dec 28, 2024 • 1h 25min
"A dual indoctrination of farm culture... and religion" - Jim Mason - Sentientism 219
Jim Mason is a lawyer, journalist and animal rights activist. He was introduced to philosopher Peter Singer, guest on Sentientism episodes 156 and 218, in 1974. Their book Animal Factories was first published in 1980 and revised in 1990. It provides a critical review and photographic documentation of factory farming practices in North America. Jim's book, An Unnatural Order: The Roots of Our Destruction of Nature looks at the historical and cultural roots of the Western belief in God-given dominion over the living world. Jim was elected to the U.S. Animal Rights Hall of Fame in 2001.
In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the most important questions: “what’s real?”, “who matters?” and "how can we make a better world?"
Sentientism answers those questions with "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is here on YouTube.
00:00 Clips!
01:15 Welcome
02:47 Jim's Intro
- Raised on an animal farm, milking cows, killing chickens
- Vegetarian since 1955 and more recently vegan
- Born during WWII, growing up in 1940-50s rural America
- Religious indoctrination "a family of Bible thumpers... I had to be in church every time the door was open"
- Methodist Christianity
- "A dual indoctrination of farm culture... and religion... the most intense Christian indoctrination"
- "I was brought up on human supremacy and using animals and animal exploitation as a way of life"
- Until early 30's "I never really departed from that agrarian mentality"
- "I became an atheist at Sunday School"
- Mourning the loss of dog Butch "my main companion... a brother to me"
- "I asked the preacher... 'Will I see Butch in heaven?'... he finally droned on... 'No we don't see animals in heaven -
animals don't have souls'... By the time the service was over I began to consciously think 'I am an atheist - I don't believe this stuff'"
- "I have since graduated from atheism to anti-theism... I don't like any form of theism... it's anti-science... we'll
find a better kind of based for our spirituality other than superstition."
06:41 What's Real?
- "It's human supremacy. We're made in the image of
god. And since I've become an atheist I've realised that we've made god in the image of ourselves... We created a god that looked like us to give us power over the world."
- Old Testament upbringing... "[not] Christian Nationalist or fundamentalist... good old mainstream Protestants"
- Era of segregation and "women's oppression had not occurred to us yet"... Trad Wives "church, children, kitchen"
- God, bible, Jesus "we were sinful and we had to come to church to purge ourselves... a whole system to train us to behave..."
26:56 What Matters?
42:20 Who Matters?
01:02:34 A Better World?
Follow Jim
- JimMason.website
- @JimMasonAUO (“reluctantly – I think it’s [Twitter] in it’s death throes”)
- Jim on Wikipedia
And more... full show notes at Sentientism.info.
Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at Sentientism.info. Join our "I'm a Sentientist" wall via this simple form.
Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. The biggest so far is here on FaceBook. Come join us there!

Nov 27, 2024 • 54min
Peter Singer - Consider The Turkey Then Pardon Them All - Sentientism 218
Peter Singer is a professor of bioethics with a background in philosophy. He works mostly in practical ethics and is best known for his books "Animal Liberation Now" and "Why Vegan?" and for his writings about global poverty. You can find our first Sentientist conversation on episode 156. His new book, Consider the Turkey, is available now from Princeton University Press.
In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the most important questions: “what’s real?”, “who matters?” and "how can we make a better world?"
Sentientism answers those questions with "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is here on YouTube.
00:00 Clips!
01:12 Welcome
- Sentientism merch :)
- Sentientism in the classroom03:45 Touring China
- "If those of us in the animal movement can't have some influence on China... what we're doing in the West is a sideshow"
- "China has more farmed animals than any other country
in the world and it has really no national animal welfare laws..."
- "China's meat consumption has been growing enormously
since the country became more prosperous... That's something I felt I wanted to try and have an influence on"
- The difficulty of influencing China from an outside perspective
- "Try to plant some seeds there... animal ethics... raise some questions about what we're eating..."
- "Encourage some of the professors... to teach more courses... practical ethics... animal ethics..."
- Boycotting vs. engaging with autocratic states?
- "I don't think that [boycotting] is going to lead to any progress... harden attitudes... 'If these westerners don't want to speak to us... we can manage perfectly well on our own'... and they can... It's really important to engage with them."
- "It's still possible to make a difference by influencing individuals... a lot has happened because some people have moved away from eating animals... helping to put some pressure on the meat industry and on supermarkets"
- "Professors who have quite a lot of autonomy in what
they teach... not complete... but... to put on courses in practical ethics and animal ethics"
- How are epistemology and ethics different in Chinese
culture?
- "I don't think anybody made a statement that I would
regard as faith-based... referring to god or some divine purpose" although Buddhism / daoism
- "Certainly open to the facts... science of animal sentience... nobody questioned that... nobody questioned evolution..."
- "Very much like talking to an audience in the west that was university educated where also you don't get very many challenges to a science-based view"
- Religion and autocracy/authoritarianism as two different sources of dogmatism?
25:52 Consider the Turkey
Follow Peter
- PeterSinger.info (and you can chat to PeterSinger.AI there)
- Peter’s Bold Reasoning Substack
- Peter on BlueSky
- Peter's Lives Well Lived podcast with Kasia de Lazari Radek
And more... full show notes at Sentientism.info.
Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at Sentientism.info. Join our "I'm a Sentientist" wall via this simple form.
Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. The biggest so far is here on FaceBook. Come join us there!

Nov 10, 2024 • 1h 21min
"Collective liberation for all!" - Noella Williams - Writer - Sentientism 217
Noella Williams is a Brooklyn-based freelance culture writer whose writing has appeared in Marie Claire, Teen Vogue, the Washington Post, Vox and elsewhere. Noella’s reporting ranges from Black culture to queer identity to intersectional veganism, internet culture, and more. She describes herself as a "journalist, vegan foodie, pokemon trainer, dj, and abolitionist." One of her most recent pieces, for Vox, was "I'm a Black vegan. Why don't you see more of us?"
In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the most important questions: “what’s real?”, “who matters?” and "how can we make a better world?"
Sentientism answers those questions with "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is here on YouTube.
00:00 Clips!
00:57 Welcome
- Noella’s Vox article
- Marina Bolotnikova episode
- Sentientism merch & mug :)
03:40 Noella's Intro
- Florida to New York
- 5 year vegan "a big part of my life... a huge
lifestyle change... how veganism has changed me... also been reflected in my writing"
- Writing on Black / Queer culture, music, politics, food,
home & lifestyle, video games, veganism "whatever interests me"
- Birdwatching and catching Pokemon :)
06:10 What's Real?
- Growing up in the Florida Bible Belt
- Black Baptist Church on Sundays and Wednesdays
- Christian school from kindergarten to 8th grade
- "Huge involvement in church... school... choir... everything had it's basis in Christianity"
- Both parents religious "they're both Caribbeans"
- "I am not religious any more"
- Agnostic since a year after graduating high school
"that also coincided with me going vegan and realising I was queer"
- Christianity: "It was what I knew and breathed and
slept with... that was everything I knew as a kid"
- "I started questioning things more at high school...
perhaps middle school"
- Being asked to sign a very strict pledge at school:
"No secular music... drugs... alcohol... this is kind of wild"
- "The misogyny in biblical texts was on my mind a
lot... religious figures like a pastor... use the bible as a text to justify... a wife submitting to a husband"
- "The homophobia eventually came along... a lot of
biblical stuff is very 'man and woman'"
- "Things were written by different prophets and... I
can't generalise the Bible as a whole but... there's a little bit of irony here... how different these things being said are..."
- "Maybe this isn't something I should use to guide my
life let alone my moral compass"
- "My father has a rule that... as long as I was in his
house I have to go to church Wednesdays/Sundays"
24:00 What Matters?
31:40 Who Matters?
50:49 A Better Future?
01:18:05 Follow Noella
- NoellaWilliams.com
- Noella’s Vox Article
- Noella’s Links on Campsite
- @yonoella
- Noella on Insta
And more... full show notes at Sentientism.info.
Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at Sentientism.info. Join our "I'm a Sentientist" wall via this simple form.
Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. The biggest so far is here on FaceBook. Come join us there!

Oct 18, 2024 • 1h 9min
"Factory farming... is impermissible in Islam" - Altamush Saeed - Sentientism 216
Altamush Saeed is an animal and environmental law professor. He teaches Pakistan’s 1st Animal Law Advocacy Course and is Founding Managing Partner At Environmental and Animal Rights Consultants, Pakistan’s 1st dedicated Animal and Environmental law and policy firm. Altamush is known for his non-profit work on Interspecies Justice for which he has won multiple awards. He also co-founded the Charity Doings Foundation, a non-profit that aims to save all life, be it human, animal, or the environment in Pakistan. Amongst many other advisory roles he serves as a strategic academic advisor and advocate for Muslim Veganism and Environmentalism at Green Islam.
In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the most important questions: “what’s real?”, “who matters?” and "how can we make a better world?"
Sentientism answers those questions with "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is here on YouTube.
00:00 Clips!
01:11 Welcome
- Islam and non-human animals
- Animals as survivors/victims of natural disasters
03:00 Altamush's Intro
- 3 masters degrees: animal, environmental and human rights law "I always see the three disciplines as together"
- Teaching law
- Founding and running a non-profit and a law firm
- Becoming a documentary film-maker
05:00 What's Real?
- "I've had multiple identities"
- Growing up in Pakistan
- Doctor parents... a good education... privileges
- "Animals are kind of invisible"
- "this anthropocentric mindset... fuelled by the idea that you're unable to see beyond your own needs... until they're met at a proper scale... it's hard for people to see beyond human beings... that's the lived reality in Pakistan."
- Pakistan as an Islamic nation "part of our constitution... we have laws on Islam... laws on animal rights in Islam... codified, however not implemented properly."
- "Initially I didn't see animals... that's how I started my non-profit"
- "A cat came into my life... even though I physically rescued her she was the one who mentally rescued me... that's the day when I started seeing animals for who they really are..."
- JW: Religious belief based on faith/revelation/authority or on evidence and reason?
- "It's actually both of them... I do believe in the text... the Quran... taught about that from a very young age... we pray... community... good human rights stuff"
- "All Muslims are khalifa which is basically a ruler. But the actual word is steward... a sovereign who has responsibility for everything..."
- "That's not normally how it's read... you are the most superior being... everything has been made for you... you have divine permission to do anything including eating animals."
- "I used reason... the most driving reasoning for me was the mercy of Allah... there are constant references that his mercy overpowers his anger"
13:05 What and Who Matters?
17:00 Who Matters?
41:52 A Better World?
01:04:48 Follow Altamush
- Altamush on LinkedIn
- Altamush on Instagram
- @earcpakistan
- Charitydoings.org
And more... full show notes at Sentientism.info.
Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at Sentientism.info. Join our "I'm a Sentientist" wall via this simple form.
Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. The biggest so far is here on FaceBook. Come join us there!