Sentientism

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.

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.