Sentientism

Amy Wilson (https://twitter.com/Ms_AmyPWilson) is an Animal, Human & Earth Rights Lawyer. She founded the Animal Law Reform & Animal Law Africa NGOs. She works as the Aquatic Animal Law Initiative Fellow at the Center for Animal Law Studies and volunteers with a number of other organizations in South Africa, across Africa and in the USA. In South Africa, Amy has leadership roles with the Coalition of African Animal Welfare Organisations and the Humane Education Trust. Throughout Africa, she works with Lawyers for Animal Protection in Africa. In these 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 https://youtu.be/p--DwudERgQ on Sentientism YouTube. We discuss: - Social justice & taking integrated approaches to animal, human & even earth rights - Growing up in post-apartheid South Africa - Attending convent school as a Presbyterian (non-Catholic) christian. Feeling excluded & "lesser" - Reading the Bible: "Revelations was my jam!" - Realising the inconsistencies in religion - Encountering homophobia "Am I somehow damned to hell" for being bi-sexual? - "Everything kind of feels sinful" - The fear around questioning. Asking even the uncomfortable questions - Learning about other religions. Commonalities & rigidity - Moving from religion to spirituality. Universal compassion for all beings. Still exploring. - Moving away from religion because of evidence/reason & warped ethics - The "dominion over animals" concept  - The pre-human origins of morality - The use of religion as a weapon of oppressive colonial power - Being open-minded about whether we are part of a broader universal consciousness - Gaia and spirituality. Does consciousness create matter? - The power of never being completely sure of anything - The risks of religious & scientistic dogmas & arrogance - "Morality isn't linked to religion" - The Golden Rule - Everything is connected, every one matters - Going vegetarian then vegan. "It took a long time for me to connect the dots. I loved animals so much & I didn't realise eating them was wrong" - The "aha moment" while eating an animal - and much more... full show notes on Sentientism.info. Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at https://sentientism.info/. Join our "wall" https://sentientism.info/wall/ using this: https://sentientism.info/im-a-sentientist. Everyone interested, Sentientist or not, is welcome to join our groups. Our main one is on FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/groups/sentientism. Thanks, Graham for the post-production: https://twitter.com/cgbessellieu

Jessica Pierce (https://www.jessicapierce.net/) is a bioethicist & writer. Her work focuses on human-animal relationships & interconnections between ecosystems & health. Her "All dogs go to heaven" blog at Psychology Today is here https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/all-dogs-go-heaven. In these 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 on the Sentientism Youtube here: https://youtu.be/mUg6gWbCo1U We discuss: - Training in philosophy & religious studies - How ethics intersects w/biomedical science - Working for 10 years in medicine - Medicine can damage and enable health - Shifting to focus on non-human animal ethics - Companion animal relationships & the experience of losing Ody - The parallels between non-human animal & human care/ethics - Breaking the default assumption that "humans are the raw materials of ethics" - Growing up in an "outdoorsy" family in the Sierras & Colorado - Attending Buddhist temples, synagogues, churches. A wide variety of religions - Finding kernels of truth in every tradition but "you don't want to get stuck in one" - Studying religion from undergrad to phd - "How is someone with a phd in religion an atheist?" "When you study religion it turns you that way." -  Not rejecting the theist traditions, but also not embracing them - If there is some "god" (with a small "g") then it's in nature and if there's a "heaven" then its a state of mind, a state of being in harmony and peace. - "Humans are not the centre of the universe" - Our attitude that we can just exploit and use the world is an offense - "I would put myself in that camp of naturalism" - The appeal of pantheism - The trap of human arrogance (both scientists and religious people seeing humans as "like gods") - And much more (visit Sentientism.info for full show notes)... Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at https://sentientism.info/. Join our "wall" https://sentientism.info/wall/ using this form: https://sentientism.info/im-a-sentientist. Everyone interested, Sentientist or not, is welcome to join our groups. Our main one is on FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/groups/sentientism. Thanks Graham for you post-prod work: https://twitter.com/cgbessellieu.

Lynda (https://twitter.com/LMKorimboccus and http://www.korimboccus.com/) is an anthrozoologist, sociologist & philosopher who teaches sociology in Scottish Further Education. She is also a musician, songwriter, writer and artist. Lynda is Editor-in-Chief of the Student Journal of Vegan Sociology (http://www.vegansociology.com/journal/). Lynda’s recent paper, “The Peppa Pig Paradox”, was published in the Journal for Critical Animal Studies (http://journalforcriticalanimalstudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/JCAS-Vol-17-Iss-5-October-2020-1-FINAL.pdf).   In these 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 audio is also on our Podcast - subscribe here: https://apple.co/391khQO & all the other platforms https://pod.link/1540408008. The video of our conversation is here on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_YjyCRc4ym8 We discuss: - Being an activist academic - The "Peppa Pig Paradox" and cognitive dissonance - Critical Animal Studies and Vegan Sociology - Multi-disciplinary perspectives spanning psychology, sociology, anthrozoology and philosophy - "There's no such thing as an amateur philosopher" - Being a child philosopher - Growing up Methodist Christian with an ex-Muslim father who converted to Christianity, then later went back to Islam - Drifting away from the church - Being a "weak atheist" or agnostic - Bible stories were only ever stories. Never believing they were true - Reasons why people leave religions - "I don't like labels". Having the freedom to choose what makes sense - Compassion as a common theme running through, and pre-dating religions - Religious sectarianism and violence in Scotland - If we strip religious ethics back to universal compassion we don't need the supernatural beliefs as justifications - Compassion, kindness, social justice and veganism as the central elements of Lynda's ethics - Taking decisions to minimise harm - The danger of socially constructed categories re: gender, race, species. Pets vs. farmed animals - The risks of a human-centred perspective, even in our understanding of and use of sentience - And much more (see YouTube or sentientism.info for full show notes) Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at https://sentientism.info/. Join Lynda on our "wall" https://sentientism.info/wall/ using this: https://sentientism.info/im-a-sentientist. Everyone interested, Sentientist or not, is welcome to join our groups. Our main one is on FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/groups/sentientism. Thanks Graham for the post-prod: https://twitter.com/cgbessellieu

Michael Dello-Iacovo (http://www.michaeldello.com/ and https://twitter.com/MichaelDello) is a PhD candidate in space science, looking at off-Earth exploration, mining & asteroid impact risk. Michael hosts the Morality is Hard podcast where he examines ethical questions and argues that everyday ethical choices are harder than we think they are. He is currently on the New South Wales state committee for the Animal Justice Party and is a committee member of the party’s youth wing. Michael has dedicated his life to giving back and making the world a better place for all. To that end, in 2016 he pledged to donate all of his income above AUS$45,000 each year to the most effective charities and causes, a pledge which he will uphold with his parliamentary income, if elected. Michael was previously the CEO of Effective Altruism Australia.  In these Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?” Sentientism is "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." Our conversation is also on the Sentientism YouTube Channel - don't forget to subscribe and hit the bell for notifications. We discuss: - Michael's PhD (pending) in space mining, terraforming, colonisation and asteroid deflection - Effective Altruism. Earning to give to do good vs. doing good directly - Peter Singer's TED talk - Leaving industry for a full time PhD and becoming an Animal Justice Party political candidate - Michael's Morality is Hard podcast, blog and Vegan Space Scientist YouTube - Growing up Catholic and attending a very religious school - Taking the Christian god, hell and heaven for granted. Being told every day it was true - Struggling with the fear of death without an afterlife. The comforting fiction of heaven - The painful realisation at 19 yrs that "not any of it was true" and becoming an atheist - The centrality of our own experience and the difficulty of conceiving of not existing - Searching for meaning after religion. Exploring and identifying with utilitarianism and consequentialism - "The only things sentient minds can value are suffering and wellbeing". Everything else we think we value is a means to an end or we're tricking ourselves - Our common evolutionary history with other sentient beings - Panpsychism and whether atoms are sentient/conscious  - If electrons are "conscious" it must be very boring and they're still not sentient - Caring for companion animals but eating other animals as a child - Going vegetarian for environmental reasons, becoming more open to ethical veganism, then switching - Insect, digital mind and alien sentience - "Sentientism just captures everything and its future proof" - CosmicSkeptic grudgingly identifying as Sentientist: "The term has absolutely no wit about it" - Is Sentientism the only moral discrimination? - And much more! Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at https://sentientism.info/. Join Michael on our "wall" https://sentientism.info/wall/ using this form: https://sentientism.info/im-a-sentientist. Everyone interested, Sentientist or not, is welcome to join our groups. Our main one is on FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/groups/sentientism. Thanks Graham for the post-prod: https://twitter.com/cgbessellieu.

Zoe (https://twitter.com/ZoeWeil) is the co-founder & president of the Institute for Humane Education (https://humaneeducation.org/). She is considered a pioneer in the comprehensive humane education movement. She has authored seven books both for adults & children, including Most Good, Least Harm: A Simple Principle for a Better World & Meaningful Life. Zoe writes the Becoming a Solutionary blog at Psychology today. She has made numerous TV & radio appearances and has given six TED talks, including “Extending our Circle of Compassion.”  In these 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 audio is also here on YouTube - with full show notes. We discuss: - Humane Education: Human rights, animal protection, environmental sustainability - Growing up non-religious in New York but with Jewish heritage - Having the label "Jew" but not knowing what it meant - Taking courses on Orthodox Judaism at NYU. Finding the questioning & debate fascinating, but the "proofs of god didn't seem like proofs" - Taking a sense that "what you do mattered more than what you believe" - Semester at Sea, staying on an ashram, visiting Israel & Japan. Exploring religion & meaning making - Choosing to study religion rather than a scientific veterinary track - Doing a Masters in Theological studies at Harvard Divinity School, focusing on what religions taught about animals & environment - "I still don't believe in god - the way god is described in most religions" - "The mystery of the universe is awe-inspiring". Calling it "god" feels like it's narrowing something huge into something small - Is religion restricting wonder rather than revelling in it? - Does religion constrain the concept of god as the "universe" into something that looks remarkably like a human male? - Awe and wonder and connection within a naturalistic worldview - Unitarian universalism & the power of numinous, communal experience - And much more...  Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at https://sentientism.info/. Join our "wall" https://sentientism.info/wall/ using this form: https://sentientism.info/im-a-sentientist. Everyone interested, Sentientist or not, is welcome to join our groups. Our main one is on FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/groups/sentientism. Thanks Graham for the post-prod: https://twitter.com/cgbessellieu

Glenn Edney (https://oceanspirit.org/) is an Ocean ecologist, underwater naturalist, sailor and professional diver. He has been exploring the Ocean and interacting with Ocean life for more than 30 years. He has an MSc in Holistic Science from Schumacher College and Plymouth University UK. His research is focused on understanding the Ocean as a living system and the role she plays as the primary life support system for our planet. He has a strong interest in bringing together traditional indigenous Ocean knowledge and modern scientific ecological understanding. For the past four years he has been collaborating with OceansWatch.org in working with communities in Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands to develop community based, qualitative assessment methodologies to monitor the health of local reefs. He has written three books, including "The Ocean Is Alive". In these 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 and full show notes are here on YouTube: https://youtu.be/9GAvks4BKJA. We discuss: - Ocean ecology - The ocean as a "living" interconnected system - First experiencing the ocean at 3 years old and the pervasive presence of the ocean in Aotearoa (New Zealand) - Growing up in a conservative, farming area - A dog best friend - Running away from Sunday School at 5 yrs old. Not being able to get straight answers - What we think of the natural world has often been heavily modified by humans - Moving from the country to suburban Auckland. "An environment just for humans". Sensing the separation of humans. - Studying fundamentalist Christian churches at university - Visiting the tomb of St. John the Baptist - Transcendent experiences of connectedness and continuity, even within a naturalistic worldview - The physical and spiritual experiences as distinct or as one - The distinction between reality and the categories we apply to it - The limits of science - Collective minds and memory - The "evolution" of a living ocean as a whole system - Degrees or levels of sentience - "Life has always been communal" - Living things have always communicated sense data about the world (chemically or via other mechanisms). The early origins of sentience - ...and much more (show notes here https://youtu.be/9GAvks4BKJA)! Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at https://sentientism.info/. Join our "wall" https://sentientism.info/wall/ using this form: https://sentientism.info/im-a-sentientist. Everyone interested, Sentientist or not, is welcome to join our groups. Our main one is here on FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/groups/sentientism. Thanks to Graham for his post-prod work: https://twitter.com/cgbessellieu.

Dr Diana Fleischman is an evolutionary psychologist & an author. Until recently she was a senior lecturer at the University of Portsmouth. Her field of research includes the study of disgust, human sexuality, hormones & behaviour. She is involved in the effective altruism & animal welfare movements & identifies as a feminist and a Sentientist. Diana's 2018 Darwin Day Lecture, hosted by Humanists UK, was part of the inspiration for our work developing & raising awareness of Sentientism. You can find Diana at https://twitter.com/sentientist (yes!) & https://dianaverse.com/. Why not join her on our "I'm a Sentientist" wall? https://sentientism.info/sentientist-pledge/diana-fleischman. In these 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 available here on YouTube. Don't forget to subscribe and click the bell for notifications. We discuss: - Evolutionary psychology - Effective Altruism - Diana's Darwin Day talk to Humanists UK - Whether Humanists are more likely to be ethical vegans - Whether "carnism" is socialised or a state of nature - Diana's father's German Jewish & Polish family history during WWII & since - "They fell in love because he fed her a lot of food" - Diana's Catholic mother. Being baptised in Portugal - Going to synagogue with Diana's grandfather & Catholic Sunday School - After first communion "I don't like it & I don't believe it" - Going atheist at 9/10 yrs after brother did at 7 - Being fascinated by evolution - "I carried The Evolution Book around like a teddy bear" - Being teased as "Monkey Girl" for believing in evolution. The worst bullies seemed to be the most religious kids - Being told in the early 1990's by a teacher "evolution is controversial - it's not a settled idea" - We skipped the evolution chapter in the Biology textbook - Becoming stridently anti-religious - "I thought we couldn't really understand human beings without understanding that humans are animals" - I met so many wonderful religious people in the vegan movement & became much less aggressively anti-religion - Religious arguments for why we should be compassionate are wrong but that compassion can still have good outcomes - Diana's Hen Do turns into a witches coven - Weeping after being blessed by a minister & being moved by ritual - "I am exactly the kind of person who could fall into religious fervour" - Sam Harris: "Religions shouldn't have a monopoly on reverence" - "Nature is a horrible place" - & much more... (full show notes on YouTube & sentientism.info) Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at https://sentientism.info/. Join Diana on our "wall" https://sentientism.info/wall/ using this form: https://sentientism.info/im-a-sentientist. Everyone interested, Sentientist or not, is welcome to join our groups. Our main one is here on FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/groups/sentientism. Thanks to Graham for his post-prod. Follow him: https://twitter.com/cgbessellieu

Myq is a stand-up comedian (http://myqkaplan.com/ and https://twitter.com/myqkaplan). He has performed on the Tonight Show, Conan, the Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Seth Meyers, the Late Late Show with James Corden, in his own half-hour Comedy Central Presents special, and in his own one-hour special on Netflix and now Amazon, “Small, Dork, and Handsome.” He has been a finalist on Last Comic Standing and recently appeared on America’s Got Talent. His debut album “Vegan Mind Meld” was one of iTunes’ top 10 comedy albums of the year his latest, "AKA" debuted at #1. He hosts the Broccoli and Ice Cream (metaphorical) and The Faucet podcasts. In these 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 channel: https://youtu.be/L2bb8zxy4Po  We discuss: - Myq's comedy journey starting out in Boston, then on TV and at the Edinburgh fringe, now on Zoom - Studying philosophy, psychology and linguistics - Learning about Buddhism and Tibetan debate - Was the Buddha an early scientist? - Buddhism seems congruent with scientific understanding - Perception, existence, non-existence and the "selfless" - Impermanence, connectedness and the lack of intrinsic "selfness" - "We are all one, but that's my stereo!" - Batman doesn't exist but the concept of Batman does - Growing up culturally Jewish with a conservative Jewish father - "I wanted you to have something so there wasn't a void that would get filled with a cult" - Being Bar Mitzvah'd for the party and the presents - Music was more central than religion - Pacifism, non-violence and veganism - Is Sentientism "the only moral discrimination"? - The boundaries of sentience - Resenting playing the violin ("wax on") but picking up the guitar easily ("blocking"). See the Karate Kid - Flow states. How comedy and music can help us connect communally - Playing the game you're given vs. choosing which game you want to play - "I feel like the universe is telling me to do something"... "Isn't that just your brain"... "And my brain is part of the universe." - "It's all universe" - "Jamie is not Myq but we're both universe" - Kicking back against religion and identifying as atheist: "If God is all powerful and kind then what is going on?" - Metta loving kindness meditation - Love and compassion, happiness and suffering - Being terrified of death. Imagining not existing - And much more! Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at https://sentientism.info/. Join our "wall" https://sentientism.info/wall/ using this form: https://sentientism.info/im-a-sentientist. Everyone interested, Sentientist or not, is welcome to join our groups. Our main one is here on FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/groups/sentientism

Kim is an animal rights author, independent scholar, consultant, and speaker. He has 45 years of personal commitment as a vegan and professional experience in leadership positions with some of the world’s foremost animal advocacy organisations. The Kim Stallwood Archive is held by The British Library. He wrote Growl: Life Lessons, Hard Truths, and Bold Strategies from an Animal Advocate with a Foreword by Brian May (Lantern Books, 2014). He is currently working on the biography of an elephant called Topsy. He became a vegetarian in 1974 after working in a chicken slaughterhouse and a vegan in 1976. You can find Kim at https://kimstallwood.com/, https://twitter.com/grumpyvegan and https://www.instagram.com/kim_stallwood/. You can find the video of our conversation here on the Sentientism YouTube Channel, along with full show notes. In these Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?”  Sentientism is "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." We discuss: - Growing up in Surrey in a working class, Church of England community - Joining the RSPCA and being against animal cruelty as a family - Working in a chicken slaughter-house in 1973. An experience that changed everything - Going vegetarian in 1974, only knowing 2 vegetarians - Arguments with mum about going vegetarian + her going veggie without Kim noticing - Going vegan (with mum, then family) in 1976 - Being the 2nd employee at Compassion in World Farming, then a lifetime in animal advocacy - Theosophy's themes of connectedness and opposing animal cruelty - Learning philosophy as an animal advocate - Making a clear break from Christianity - Having a personal belief system: 4 key values, but not labelling with any spiritual system - Camberley Kate's care for non-humans and feeling outrage over how we treat other animals - Compassion as the first key value. Identifying with the experience of other sentient beings and being motivated to help - And much more...! Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at https://sentientism.info/. Join our "wall" https://sentientism.info/wall/ using this form: https://sentientism.info/im-a-sentientist. Everyone interested, Sentientist or not, is welcome to join our groups. Our main one is here on FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/groups/sentientism.

I gave this presentation to a meeting of the Dorset Humanist Group in the UK. It was a pleasure to be invited to talk and I really enjoyed the energetic and constructive discussion that followed. Don't forget to subscribe if you haven't already - listen to our back catalogue - give us a rating and/or a review - and recommend us to your friends (and enemies). Given the audience were mostly Humanists I focused this presentation on how Sentientism extends Humanist concepts of evidence, reason and compassion. Many of those outside the Humanist tradition might prefer to consider Sentientism afresh - given that sentience was around long before humanity even existed. If you'd like a copy of the presentation materials, get in touch via https://sentientism.info/ or visit one of our online Sentientism communities. You can also watch a video of my talk here on the Sentientism YouTube channel. You can find the Dorset Humanists at https://dorset.humanist.org.uk/wp/, their YouTube channel (includes a recording of the Q+A that followed this presentation) is here and they're on Twitter at @DorsetHumanists. Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at https://sentientism.info/. Join our "wall" using this form: https://sentientism.info/im-a-sentientist. Everyone interested, Sentientist or not, is welcome to join our groups. Our biggest is here on FaceBook.