Sentientism

Healthy Planet is hosted by Bob DiBenedetto. His WUSB radio show aims to help people learn about the powerful effect our everyday choices can have in creating a healthy and compassionate world. 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.

Cat (@CatBeschVN) founded and leads Vietnam Animal Aid & Rescue. She is also a writer & activist addressing many non-human animal issues. 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: 0:00 Welcome 1:10 Cat's Intro - Founding Vietnam Animal Aid & Rescue - Growing up in Virginia, USA - Studying International Relations in Washington DC - A political/military family 3:10 What's Real? - Growing up as a liberal Lutheran with very religious parents - The church as social fabric - Figuring out that "I just don't really believe in any of that crap" - High school & Baptist society in Alabama - The church seeing all sex as shameful... "holding virginity in such high esteem" - Feminism & Islam. "Headscarves & Hymens" by Mona Eltahawy.  - "The way the institutions look at sex & sexuality just makes you want to put your fist through a wall" - "A whole bunch of girls that think they're going to hell" - That was the turning point. Everything started to crumble - Not picking at the church too hard as it was the social fabric. "Life is hard enough at 16." I left it silently on my own - The hypocrisy of religious compassion & judgementalism - Atheists & agnostics are not immoral people - "I attended church... I took communion... my sins are flushed... now I can go back to being a dickhead" - Religious compassion is often conditional & constrained - The immorality of even "moderate" religious worldviews (e.g. hell, sexism, homophobia) - "Women are not emotionally stable enough to be leaders in the Catholic church"! - "I found it oppressive." Leaving the church was a moment of liberation - Travelling & living in many religious cultures - Starting the "Let's not be an asshole" religion - Being wrong. "I used to hate vegans", now I'm "on the side of all sentient beings" - Everybody has a chance to change - "I just don't know" as a strong naturalistic stance 25:09 What (& Who) Matters? - An early empathy for animals "they were my best friends", but living in an environment where killing sentient beings was normal - I never met a vegan in the horse riding world - "I love what you do for me" isn't love - Being angry at our previous selves for not seeing - Thinking all vegans must be "dirty hippies" - Meeting first vegans hosting couch-surfers in Mongolia - Being challenged "You love animals but who are you eating?" ...and much more. Full show notes at Sentientism.info and on YouTube. 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. Thanks for the post-prod Graham.

This episode is a bonus cross-post from Rod Graham's Being series on YouTube where I talked to Rod about Sentientism. You can watch the video of our conversation on his channel here. Check out and subscribe to Rod's channel and give him a follow on Twitter. I hope you enjoy our conversation! As ever, this is my personal perspective so many other Sentientists will disagree - while still agreeing on "evidence, reason and compassion for all sentient beings." Sentientism: sentientism.info Sentientism Facebook (all welcome) 📺https://www.youtube.com/c/Sentientism

Peter Tatchell (@PeterTatchell & petertatchell.net) has been an activist for human rights, democracy, LGBT+ freedom and global justice since 1967. Watch the Netflix documentary about his life, "Hating Peter Tatchell". He directs the Peter Tatchell foundation (petertatchellfoundation.org). 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: 0:00 Welcome 1:10 Peter's Intro - a lifetime of activism - Teenage campaigning: indigenous rights, death penalty, Vietnam war - A wide spectrum of campaigns: LGBT+ rights, social justice, free speech, Balochistan, West Papua 3:07 What's Real? - Growing up in Melbourne in 1950-60s under a right-wing government - Evangelical Protestant Christian Bible literalist parents - "You take what your parents say, usually, to be what is right" - Studying science at school & starting to question - Being horrified at 11 yrs hearing about the racist bombing of a black church in Alabama - Black civil rights & Martin Luther King & Liberation theology - "If god is omnipotent, why does evil happen?" - Teaching Sunday School at 16 - Being told evolution was a "satanic theory" by abusive step-father - Dropping the hateful, vengeful old testament god & holding on to more compassionate new testament values - Homosexuality was still a criminal offence in 1969 - "I was genuinely afraid that if I came out, they [my parents] would turn me in to the police" - "For both of them, homosexuality was a terrible, mortal sin - almost on a par with murder & rape" - How Peter's mother has come to support LGBT+ rights - Becoming an atheist & humanist at ~20 19:10 What & Who Matters? - Still holding to some of the compassionate values of Christianity, but those values aren't exclusive to religion - Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Global, not "western" - Human rights are evolving & expanding. Yet to extend to LGBT+ / disability - AI/robot rights? Peter's 1970's degree dissertation on cyborg sentience & rights - Pre-human proto-morality - Looking after the family cow at 9 yrs old. Seeing the cruelty of circuses/zoos at 10. - "I knew they had feelings... but I never thought they had rights" - Being revolted by seeing chickens being killed "but I was still eating the meat" - Considering non-human animal rights in the 1970-80s & reducing animal product consumption - "Other animals are sentient beings - they have feelings" ...and much more. Full show notes at Sentientism.info and on YouTube. Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at Sentientism.info. Join Peter on 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. Thanks for the post-prod Graham.

Massimo (figsinwinter.blog & @mpigliucci) is Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. He co-hosted the Rationally Speaking Podcast & was the editor in chief for the magazine Scientia Salon. He is an outspoken critic of pseudoscience & creationism & an advocate for secularism, science education & Stoicism.  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: 0:00 Welcome 1:10 Massimo's Intro: Evo bio to philosophy 1:40 What's Real? - Growing up in Rome, "Catholic by default" - Accepting the christian world view, but questioning it early. The Trinity, transubstantiation - At communion: "It doesn't taste like human flesh" - Adopting secular humanism & turning to science & philosophy - The limitations of secular humanism: "When it came to real crises in my life... secular humanism was not very useful... it doesn't help me to think in terms of human rights when my father is dying" - Stoicism as a practical philosophy of ethics & how to live a meaningful life - Hume & Russell - Some of the commandments "seem a little narcissistic & self-centred coming from a god" - Jesus seems like a good guy but the Catholic church has taken some awful political positions over the centuries & today - Not blaming Jesus but instead blaming patriarchal forces inside & outside religion - Antivaxx, conspiracy theories, alternative medicine - "I don't believe that any unfounded belief is harmless, ultimately" - The attitude of taking unfounded beliefs seriously crosses boundaries easily. Jumping from one mystical or conspiracy theory to another - Hume "A reasonable person proportions his belief to the evidence"  - Faith as belief without evidence - The ony thing you don't want to do without belief is go to 0% or 100%. Bayesianism - Carl Sagan's It's nice to have an open mind, but not so open your brain falls out - Don't ask "is it possible?" ask "how likely is it to be true?" - The risk of dogmatic attitudes even amongst skeptics - People don't like being told they're idiots - Even a religious/supernatural worldview with modern ethics still presents a risk - When religious authority conflicts with compassionate ethics - As a secular humanist can disagree with Sagan or Seneca. As a Christian person I can't disagree with god or Jesus 21:21 What & Who Matters? - The Tolstoy fallacy "Unless there is a god you might as well go around murdering and raping" - Naturalistic ethics (Philippa Foot, Confucianism, virtue ethics and more...) ...And much more. Full show notes on YouTube and 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. Thanks for the post-prod Graham.

C Lou / Carrie (@clouhamilton1 & veganismsexandpolitics.com & drcarriehamilton.com) is an author, editor & translator. She wrote the book "Veganism, Sex & Politics: Tales of Danger & Pleasure" about her vegan journey & how veganism relates to wider social justice issues including feminist, queer & anti-racist politics as well as environmentalism. 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: 0:00 Welcome 2:05 Carrie's Intro - academic history to writing & activism - Acknowledging Canada's indigenous & settlement history - Growing up near Toronto - Agnostic, democratic socialist parents, focused on social justice, activism environmentalism & praxis. No feminism, animal ethics or colonial awareness - "I didn't know any vegetarians when I was growing up" - Extending moral consideration beyond humans. Considering our responsibilities - Feminism & women's studies - The liberation of leaving academia - Writing "Veganism, Sex & Politics" - Academic activism, public reach & politics - "The idea that you would do animal studies while at the same time eating their bodies..." 16:25 What's Real? - Agnosticism - Psychedelics, spiritual/mystical experiences - Having respect for religious people but little patience for religious institutions. Not positive influences. Patriarchy & authoritarianism - Institutional abuse & cover-ups - Naturalistic & supernatural experiences of awe & wonder - How supernatural beliefs can warp ethics - How religious organisations use societal deference as a shield - The positive contributions of religious institutions - Feminism: asking questions & considering practicalities 30:09 What Matters? - Supernatural & naturalistic ethical frameworks - The importance of challenging our assumptions & influences (e.g. re: sentient animals & veganism) - Individualism, collectivism, authoritarianism, dogma - Forms of feminism - "It's important to think about... & revise... where our values come from" - Movements that are ostensibly secular often mindlessly integrate aspects of authoritarianism & dogma from religion - Criticisms of veganism as puritan & sacrificial. But it's a pleasure! - The challeges of talking about veganism as a "moral baseline" (Francione, Steiner). Too much dogma? - Applying a naturalistic humility & scepticism to ethics - Introspection via Buddhist meditation & writing - Having the space & resources to slow down & be mindful + more! Full notes on YouTube and Sentientism.info. Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at Sentientism.info. Join our "I'm a Sentientist" wall using this simple form. ​Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. Our biggest so far is here on Facebook. Thanks for the post-prod Graham.

This episode is a bonus cross-post from The Artists of Data Science podcast where I talk to Harpreet Sahota about Sentientism. We cover some of my personal perspectives too - so as ever, many other Sentientists will disagree. Harpreet has hosted an eclectic range of guests in his 171 episodes so far. If it looks interesting, why not subscribe to TADS as well as Sentientism!

Tobias (@TobiasLeenaert) is an author & a vegan advocacy consultant. He blogs at Veganstrategist.org & wrote "How to Create a Vegan World". He is the co-founder of ProVeg International. He is an Effective Altruist - thinking about the best ways to achieve a compassionate society. He also describes himself as a "Slow opinionist". 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: 0:00 Welcome 1:28 Tobias' Intro - A life of vegan advocacy - Setting up EVA, then "meta-activism" helping other activists be more effective 2:37 What's Real? - Being confirmed as a Catholic & attending Catholic school because "that's just what you do" - Defending rational & scientific worldviews - "I'm not the most devout atheist you can find"... there's a possibility there's "something more" - Could religious visions one day be made real through technology? Reincarnation, heaven, creation/simulation? - "Maybe religious ideas are perversions of what is technologically possible" - Science fiction - Hallucinogenics & "religious" experiences - The hard problem of consciousness vs. "it's just what doing this sort of info processing feels like" - The echoes of religious ideas even for those who no longer believe. The Exorcist" movie 15:34 What Matters Morally? - Being raised as an ethical person. Volunteering at 12 yrs old - A teenage phase of being less morally engaged, then "it came back - especially with animals" - "That empathy was there always - without needing a system of rules" - Emotional & rational bases for compassionate ethics - "You can be a vegan sociopath"... decide rationally to act compassionately without feeling empathy 22:12 Extending moral consideration to non-humans - Loving companion cats and dogs at home as a child - Wondering what's the difference between them & cows we eat - "If I can't answer that question I have to stop eating animals" - Taking 10 years to go vegan even after that realisation - The power of taste preference... overcoming intertia - Making a bet to go without meat for a month. Then carrying on - Empathy, reasoning, then practice - "Making compassion easier" - Peter Singer's shallow pond thought experiment - Anthropocentrism, sentiocentrism, biocentrism, ecocentrism - Wild animal suffering & artificial sentients - "I don't see the point in going beyond sentientism - only sentient beings can suffer by definition" - The dangers of environmentalists granting moral consideration to species or populations that have no concerns & can't experience ... and much more. Full notes at Sentientism.info and on YouTube. Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at sentientism.info. Join our "I'm a Sentientist" wall https://sentientism.info/wall/ here: https://sentientism.info/im-a-sentientist. Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. Main one: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sentientism. Thanks Graham https://twitter.com/cgbessellieu.

Mariann (@marisul) is Co-host with previous guest Jasmin Singer of the Our Hen House podcast and host of the Animal Law Podcast. She is a lawyer, lecturer, teacher and animal rights activist. 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 Welcome 1:40 Mariann's Intro. An Animal life - Working as a lawyer in New York - Adopting a dog on impulse then waking up to animal issue - "He'd stopped eating meat because of the way animals were treated - and t was just like 'boom!'" - Most people know there's a problem - they just avoid thinking about it - Joining (later chairing) the Animal Law Committee of the NY bar - Connecting animal advocacy organisations  - Meeting Jasmin Singer & starting Our Hen House 6:02 What's Real? - Growing up Catholic - "I had faith but it was never a burden for me" - Not really being religious any more... "but those voices never really go away" - As a teenager "It just started to seem unlikely" - Getting comfortable with "I don't know" - Ethics & evidence as reasons for abandoning supernatural worldviews - The tumult of Catholic college in 1968. From dressing for dinner & attending church to "men with beards living in the dorms" - "Boom - the entire world changed - everyone was questioning everything" - Leaning towards atheism but not being certain - "We're connected to each other in ways we don't understand" - Non-sentient living things - Woo! vs. naturalistic views of sentience & consciousness - Finding awe in a naturalistic worldview 18:01 What Matters? - "It's all about suffering"... and about pleasure too - Suffering matters... "It's so obvious" - "What kind of god -  would create this planet - where animals eat each other" - Morality as compliance vs. concern for suffering/flourishing - Reading Peter Singer. He wrote down what many were already feeling - "Why did I get there and everybody doesn't get there?" - "I don't think it's a philosophical problem... it's a psychological problem" - "How can you not sound self-righteous when you're right?" - "I don't understand why this is this big moral journey" - The "all we have to do is tell everybody" stage of activism - The family & social challenges of going vegan - The risks of motivated reasoning even within a naturalistic worldview 28:48 The Future - Balancing despair & hope with the help of Our Hen House - Things have shifted. "It's almost as if we have won the moral argument already." ... and much more. Full notes on YouTube or Sentientism.info. Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at Sentientism.info. Join our "I'm a Sentientist" wall using this simple form. Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. The biggest so far is here on Facebook. Thanks Graham for the post-production.

Aditya (https://www.soytheist.com/ & https://www.youtube.com/c/Soytheist) is an animal rights advocate from Assam in India. His @Soytheist YouTube channel focuses on taking a straightforward & rational approach to animal rights, identity politics & occasionally religion & atheism. 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 https://youtu.be/A1a6z-uX6no We discuss: 0:00 Welcome 1:17 Aditya's Intro - rational animal rights - Having the "luxury" of being able to take a direct approach 3:10 What's Real? - India as a religious country - Growing up with religious parents who didn't push religion - Asking deep questions as a child & being handed Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" - Never believing in god "There is not sufficient evidence to support the claims." - Criticising religion requires more caution than discussing atheism - "A straightforward reading of a lot of religious scripture leads to conclusions & worldviews that are completely at odds with what a regular person would consider to be moral" - But "No matter what the scripture says you can bend it" so "the vast majority of religious people are perfectly moral people" - The mental gymnastics of adapting religious ethics (e.g. rejecting homophobia) 12:00 What Matters? - I can ground my morality as well as a Christian or a Muslim can. But not in a perfectly objective way - Every sentient values it's own suffering & flourishing - If our suffering & flourishing matters, so does that of others - Growing up in a "heavy meat-eating culture" in North-Eastern India - In Western countries the slaughter is hidden away. That's not the case in much of India  - Visiting a market at age 14 to buy goat meat. Seeing the terror in a baby goat's eyes as it was picked up & seeing another trying to hide. Thinking "that's exactly what I would do." "Don't kill him." - Discovering animal rights philosophy online - "This is the greatest moral emergency of our time & I have been contributing to this horrifying atrocity" - Going vegetarian then learning about dairy & going vegan - "What happened to you? - you've become like those 'mainland' Indians" - "There's a notion that veganism requires economic privilege - That's nonsense" - "The only people claiming that are those that think a Starbucks latte is a basic need" - The cheapest foods in the market were plant-based - "Pure veg" & caste purity - can hinder the fight for animal rights. It's about purity, not compassion ... and much more. Full show notes at sentientism.info and YouTube. 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/ here: https://sentientism.info/im-a-sentientist. ​Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. Main one: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sentientism. Thanks Graham.