Sentientism

Marc is profesor emeritus of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He has published  31 books, won many awards for his research on animal behavior, animal emotions, compassionate conservation, & animal protection, has worked closely with Jane Goodall, & is a former Guggenheim Fellow. Marc's latest books are "Canine Confidential: Why Dogs Do What They Do" & "Unleashing Your Dog: A Field Guide to Giving Your Canine Companion the Best Life Possible" (with Jessica Pierce) & he also publishes regularly for Psychology Today. Marc & Jessica have recently written "A Dog's World" about what the world will be like for dogs as & when humans disappear (Princeton University Press, 2021). In 1986 Marc won the Master's age-graded Tour de France. His homepage is https://marcbekoff.com/. In these Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?” Sentientism is "evidence, commitment & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is here on YouTube, along with full show notes. We discuss: - Growing up in Brooklyn & not being a strong student in high-school - Talking to a companion goldfish & the neighbourhood animals - Imagining perpectives of non-human animals: "Minding animals" - Seeming bizarre to question the sentience of non-human animals - Selling records, undergrad degree, then a career using animal play behaviour as a window into the animal perspective - Michael Fox's work with canids & becoming his grad student - Nagel's "What is it like to be a bat?" - Donald Griffin's "The question of animal awareness" & "Animal Minds" - Animal protection as a lifelong focus - Getting academics out of the clouds and into helping - Growing up in a culturally Jewish home with Russian Jewish immigrant grandparents, but being an atheist from day one - "I never doubted that non-human animals had feelings" (Luna barks in agreement) ... 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. Thanks to Graham for his post-prod work. Follow him: https://twitter.com/cgbessellieu

John is a professional animal advocate & public speaker. You can support his work at https://www.patreon.com/JohnOberg and follow him at https://twitter.com/JohnOberg. In these Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?”  Sentientism is "evidence, commitment & compassion for all sentient beings." Full show notes and the video of our conversation are here: https://youtu.be/UTZlwC4nHq8 We discuss: - John's career in animal advocacy and vegan advocacy - "It's been the best change of my life - it's given my live a lot of meaning & I've made a big difference for animals." - Helping other advocates & organisations to be effective via social media - Messages being seen by 10's of millions of human eyes - Growing up in the mid-West, but in a fairly non-religious context - We generally assumed God exists, but it was rarely talked about - Thinking at 14 "This doesn't make any sense - I'm an atheist!" - Going through a "militant" atheist phase - then softening to just being open minded... "I don't rule anything out" - The challenges of coping with family illness & death. Recognising the pull of the hope of an afterlife - Given there are so many thousands of religions, amazing how someone can be so sure theirs is the right one. It's just what they were taught as a child - How the "golden rule" & broad themes of compassion pre-date, then run through most religions - How naturalism needs to be humble & open minded (even to crazy ideas) - Avoiding the arrogance of dogma even within atheist/skeptic/naturalistic worldviews - Withholding belief until there's evidence. Being comfortable not knowing until then - "A Meaningful Life" and "The Animal Activist's Handbook" by Matt Ball, founder of Vegan Outreach - The meaning of life is about 2 things: The pursuit of pleasure and joy and the avoidance of pain and suffering (the latter being more important) - And more.. You can find John at https://twitter.com/JohnOberg, https://www.facebook.com/JohnObergOfficial and https://www.johnoberg.org. You can support him via Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/JohnOberg. Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at https://sentientism.info/. Join our "wall" https://sentientism.info/wall/ using this simple 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. Thanks to Graham for his post-prod work. Follow him: @cgbessellieu

Kevin is a community vet, based in Ontario, Canada. He grew up in East Africa & Goa, India & then moved to Canada. He has held leadership roles, originally in Catholic community organisations &, more recently, Humanist community organisations. In these Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?” Sentientism is “evidence, commitment & compassion for all sentient beings.” Full show notes are here: https://sentientism.info/vet-training-reduces-empathy-for-animals-vet-kevin-saldhana-new-sentientist-conversation The video version of our conversation is here on YouTube. We discuss: Growing up in a Roman Catholic Christian, meat-eating family in Goa, India and in East Africa The centrality of Catholicism to the community Praying for exam success Moving to Canada and becoming deeply embedded in the local religious community (inc. The Knights of Columbus) Discussing animal ethics with a priest “do they have souls and an afterlife?” Rejecting the homophobia of the Knights of Columbus & Catholicism Considering the impossibility of “souls” 9/11 as a trigger for re-considering Kevin’s religion, morality and purpose Telling Kevin’s story in the book “Faith beyond belief” Studying science and evolution as a vet, but keeping it separate from faith The social challenges of leaving religion (leadership roles, social circles) Most friends are still friends. They pray for Kevin’s soul and his return to Catholicism Rejecting not just religious, but all supernatural beliefs Lacking atheist role models IRL, getting past the militant atheist groups, but finding connections re: Humanism online & then in person Leading a Humanist group for over a decade People returning to religion because of a wish for simple ethical standards and a comforting community and roadmap of rituals for their family Vet school is oriented towards non-human animal agriculture where harming & killing animals is normalised And more... You can find Kevin at @vegvet or on Facebook here. Kevin’s veterinary practice is at 567vets.com. Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at Sentientism.info. Why not help Kevin to normalise rationality and compassion by joining him on our “wall” using this simple form. Everyone interested, Sentientist or not, is welcome to join our groups. Our main one is here on FaceBook. Thanks to Graham for his post-prod work. Follow him: @cgbessellieu

This episode is a cross-post from the Godless Spellchecker Podcast where Steven Knight interviewed me (Jamie) about Sentientism. We started our conversation by discussing an incident where I was attacked in front of my daughter by a white supremacist gang (it was ages ago and we're both fine thanks). That doesn't have too much to do with Sentientism and contains some strong language, so I've left it out of this version. If you'd like to hear it, you can find it on the Godless Spellchecker feed. Stephen's podcast focuses on atheism, secularism, freedom of belief and speech. As a fellow vegan, Stephen seems to fit the Sentientist mould, although he's hesitant about layering specific ethical commitments on top of naturalism, atheism or humanism. Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” You can find out more at Sentientism.info. Why not join our “wall” using our simple “I’m a Sentientist” form? Everyone interested, Sentientist or not, is welcome to join our community groups. Our main group is here on FaceBook. We have a fascinating range of compassionate, rational people there from around 90 countries so far!

Corey Lee Wrenn is a UK-based American sociologist and scholar of social movements and human-nonhuman relations. She is a lecturer in the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research at the University of Kent. Corey says: “The magnitude of nonhuman suffering is such that activists can’t afford to take chances. My work is designed to take the guesswork out of social movement mobilization and animal rights activism, and I need your help to implement the findings.” Full show notes are here: https://sentientism.info/vegan-stuff-is-going-to-be-hot-sociologist-corey-lee-wrenn-new-sentientist-conversation The video of our conversation is on Sentientism YouTube here. In these Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?” Sentientism is “evidence, commitment & compassion for all sentient beings.” We discuss (and much more): - The Vegan Feminist Network, The Vegan Society - Corey’s books: “A Rational Approach to Animal Rights“, “Piecemeal Protests”, Animal Rights in Ireland, Vegan Sociology, Vegan Feminism - Growing up atheist in the american “bible belt” south, surrounded by deeply religious culture and family - A cousin gifting a bible saying “I’m worried about your soul!” - Reading the bible – “a lot of animal killing… this isn’t for me” - The sociological concern about whether urbanisation and the de-emphasis of religion might leave a moral vacuum (e.g. Durkheim) - Being “a child of the human rights project” – individual freedoms (e.g. from suffering), equality, social justice - Mishka joins our conversation 🐶 - First animal protest at 8 years old “I crawled under my bed and wouldn’t come out” re: animal shelter euthanasia - Drawing pictures showing the turkey’s perspective at Thanksgiving - Growing up in a meat-eating, hunting culture as the “lone Appalachian vegan” - Vegetarian at 13 when realised “That was an actual animal” - Vegan on first day at university after leaving home - Granting moral consideration to all sentient beings regardless of category... You can find Corey at coreyleewrenn.com, here on FaceBook and @DrCoreyLeeWrenn. Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at https://sentientism.info/. Join our “wall” using this simple form. Everyone interested, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. Our biggest (~90 countries so far) is here on FaceBook. Thanks to Graham for his post-prod work. Follow him: @cgbessellieu.

Jeff Sebo is Clinical Assoc. Prof. of Environmental Studies, Affiliated Professor of Bioethics, Medical Ethics, & Philosophy, & Director of the Animal Studies M.A. Program at New York University. He is on the executive committee at the NYU Center for Environmental & Animal Protection & the advisory board for the Animals in Context series at NYU Press. He is a board member at Animal Charity Evaluators, a board member at Minding Animals International, an Exec. Cttee. member at the Animals & Society Institute, and a Senior Fellow at Sentient Media. Full show notes are here https://sentientism.info/change-is-possible-but-hard-jeff-sebo-author-activist-academic-new-sentientist-conversation In these Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?” Sentientism is “evidence, commitment & compassion for all sentient beings.” The audio will also be on our Podcast – subscribe on Apple here & most other platforms via Anchor. We discuss: Jeff’s background in moral & political philosophy & his shift to focus on animal & environmental ethics Multi-disciplinary approaches Using academia to drive real change Growing up in a Christian household & connecting with religious community (e.g. leading youth groups) Considering going into ministry College at Texas Christian University (liberal arts focus, but many conservative Christian students) Facing a wave of challenges to religious beliefs & having a major faith crisis “I never really believed the Christian stuff in the first place as much as I thought I did… in fact, I was just invested in the community.” A reactionary atheism phase: “God is dead, life is absurd!” Re-constructing a more generous interpretation of religious & scientific beliefs Deep humility re: the fundamental nature of reality The limits to empirical testing. There might be truths beyond those limits “Use evidence & reason to study what we can but recognise that they will not be able to grasp everything of interest in the world” And much more... Follow Jeff at @jeffrsebo & find him at jeffsebo.net Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at https://sentientism.info/. Join our “wall” using this simple form. Everyone interested, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. Our biggest (~90 countries so far) is here on FaceBook. Thanks to Graham for his post-prod work. Follow him: @cgbessellieu.

Claudia Hirtenfelder is a PhD Candidate in Geography at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. She is host of The Animal Turn Podcast (Subscribe!) In these Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?” Sentientism is “evidence, commitment & compassion for all sentient beings.” The video of our conversation is here on YouTube. Full show notes are here: https://sentientism.info/imagining-a-better-future-through-our-everyday-decisions-podcaster-and-academic-claudia-hirtenfelder-new-sentientist-conversation We discuss: Doing The Animal Turn podcast as a way of learning about animal studies Growing up non-religious but in a Christian context in South Africa (school, society) Loving confirmation camp & the church community Enjoying the easy answers of star signs Asking questions of the church and challenging religion. “Why do bad things happen?”… “Mysterious ways!” Eventually identifying as an atheist Gravitating towards being more anti-theist “If there is a god, why is he so shitty?”, while still respecting people who are religious Rejecting religion because of ethics & evidence/reason Hesitating about whether reason is “everything” (vs. significance of emotion) Emotions can cause problems, but so can being too calculating… Social realities How is the idea of rational thought operationalised. It’s not perfect or free of context Supposedly “rational” thinking has been used to cause terrible harms The need for humility and scepticism, even of our own rationality Different types of evidence, including personal lived experience Subjective experiences as part of one objective reality Awe, wonder & connectedness even within a naturalistic world view Luna the puppy (no longer really a puppy) comments on our discussion And much more here You can find Claudia at @ClaudiaFTowne & The Animal Turn here. Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at https://sentientism.info/. Join our “wall” using this simple “I’m a Sentientist” form. Everyone interested, Sentientist or not, is welcome to join our groups. Our main one is here on FaceBook. Thanks to Graham Bessellieu for his post-prod work. Give him a follow!

Mikko is a tech start-up founder and CEO (now https://candle.to/). He founded & is now board chair of Sentient Media - an organisation dedicated to making the world a better place for all sentient beings through journalism. Full show notes are here: https://sentientism.info/breeding-into-suffering-is-the-root-of-the-problem-sentient-media-founder-mikko-jarvenpaa-new-sentientist-conversation In these Sentientist Conversations, we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?”. Sentientism is "evidence, commitment & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is here on YouTube. We discuss: Growing up in a political family (father a Finnish Member of Parliament) Early experiences with animals on the family hobby farm Founding Sentient Media & how farmed animal perspectives are neglected in normal media Studying philosophy of social change at the LSE The default state Lutheran religion in Finland, including religious education Learning science, evolution, astronomy as a child Finding religions fascinating & getting perfect marks in religious classes (great stories!) Learning to read from Dungeons & Dragons manuals The relief of formally resigning from the church as a teenager (w/ cooling off period) Evidence & ethics as triggers for challenging religion Reading Nietzsche at 16 Trying on different religions. What would it feel like to believe? Is picking a religion arbitrary, like picking a sports team? Being overwhelmed by the idea of solipsism at ~10 yrs old Morality as something fundamentally social Utilitarianism. Measurement, probability, individualism, rationalism as “western”? Sentientism’s neutrality re: moral systems Early utilitarians often did consider non-human sentience Utility grounded in sentience “My best friends, as a kid, were the sheep.” Making assumptions about sheep. Then being accepted as part of the herd. Deepening understanding of “sheepness” And much more. Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at sentientism.info. Join our “wall” using this simple form. Everyone interested, Sentientist or not, is welcome to join our groups. Our biggest is here on FaceBook. Thanks to Graham Bessellieu for his post-prod work on this video. Follow him at @cgbessellieu.

This is a bonus cross-post episode from the Two for Tea podcast where I (Jamie) was interviewed about Sentientism. Two for Tea is a podcast about politics, culture and society by Iona Italia and Helen Pluckrose. Make sure you subscribe to their podcast as well as mine! They host thoughtful conversations with a fascinating range of guests. Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” You can find out more at Sentientism.info. Why not join our “wall” using our simple “I’m a Sentientist” form? Everyone interested, Sentientist or not, is welcome to join our community groups. Our main group is here on FaceBook. We have a fascinating range of compassionate, rational people there from around 90 countries so far!

Jasmin Singer is the author of “The VegNews Guide to Being a Fabulous Vegan” and the memoir “Always Too Much and Never Enough“. She’s the co-founder & co-host of the award-winning Our Hen House podcast & nonprofit (now in its eleventh year), the Director of Editorial for Kinder Beauty, & the editor of the Encompass Essays: “Pursuing Racial Equity in Animal Advocacy”. Jasmin was named a “40 Under 40” by The Advocate Magazine, a top “Eco-Preneur” by Go Magazine & can be seen in documentaries including “Vegucated” & “The Ghosts In Our Machine”. Full show notes are here: https://sentientism.info/a-fabulous-vegan-future-jasmin-singer-new-sentientist-conversation The video version of our conversation is here on YouTube. In these Sentientist Conversations (subscribe!), we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?”. Sentientism is “evidence, commitment & compassion for all sentient beings.” We discuss: Jasmin’s activist journey & roles (& books) Gaslighting re: animal agriculture 1980’s milk & meat marketing Atheism, naturalism, comparative religion Compassion in religion, but also serious ethical problems Growing up as a reform Jew, celebrating Christmas & Hannukah The mental gymnastics more “moderate” religions (like reform Judaism) have to do to move away from the harmful ethics at the core of many religions Humanism’s focus on the human species Do kids start out naturalistic and then get taught fabrications? And much more... You can find Jasmin at @jasmin_singer & jasminsinger.com. Subscribe to Our Hen House as well as to the Sentientism podcast! Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at sentientism.info. Join our “wall” using this simple form. Everyone interested, Sentientist or not, is welcome to join our groups. Our main one is here on FaceBook. Thanks to @cgbessellieu for his post-prod work.