Sentientism

Jamie Woodhouse
  • 5.0 (23)
  • PHILOSOPHY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Sentientism

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

  1. Peter Singer - Consider The Turkey Then Pardon Them All - Sentientism 218

    NOV 27

    Peter Singer - Consider The Turkey Then Pardon Them All - Sentientism 218

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

    54 min
  2. "Collective liberation for all!" - Noella Williams - Writer - Sentientism 217

    NOV 10

    "Collective liberation for all!" - Noella Williams - Writer - Sentientism 217

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

    1h 21m
  3. "Factory farming... is impermissible in Islam" - Altamush Saeed - Sentientism 216

    OCT 18

    "Factory farming... is impermissible in Islam" - Altamush Saeed - Sentientism 216

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

    1h 9m
  4. 78: "A whole new relationship with non human animals that will blow people’s minds!" - Jonina Turzi - Sentientist Conversation

    OCT 11

    78: "A whole new relationship with non human animals that will blow people’s minds!" - Jonina Turzi - Sentientist Conversation

    Jonina (@JoninaTurzi) is cofounder of Lancaster Farm Sanctuary, a volunteer district leader for HSUS, & a doctor of physical therapy & yoga educator. 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 1:24 Jonina's Intro - Lancaster Farm Sanctuary, physical therapy, yoga teaching, sobriety, queerness 2:33 What's Real? - Hippie parents, social justice, civil rights - Catholic father & schooling, more cultural than doctrinal - Brethren Church family history - Parents with a spiritual appreciation without buying into religious doctrine - Feeling the freedom to explore "I just want you to be happy" - "It felt like a human construct" - Identifying as an atheist as a teenager - Finding a beauty in the human body (& a sense of spiritual meaning) through an anatomy class - Being bullied, as a "young queer kid", by members of "Youth for Christ" - "I have no idea what's real" - The lower & upper case "Self" in some Yoga practice - Some things might always be unknowable - Reverence, wonder & awe... openness 17:10 What (& who) Matters? - Oneness & interconnectedness - Unnecessary harm to sentient others - Might plants have a kind of sentience? "I'm OK with saying we shouldn't harm plants unnecessarily" - Seeing the similiarities between human and non-human animals through physiology - "The idea that non-human animals aren't sentient is so bizarre to me" - Movement & intent as indicators of sentience - Are Roomba's sentient? - Evolution, behaviour/comms, information processing as inferential evidence for sentience - Intrinsic & instrumental value - The ethical dangers of holistic/ecocentric thinking - "Spirtual Bypassing"... rushing to find a purpose/meaning/spiritual goal while bypassing compassion & understanding - Knowing very spiritual people who also own factory farms - A local factory farm with a Bible verse written on it - "The foundation of a spiritual practice is caring for others" - Stages of moral development: Ego, ethno, anthropocentric... 37:30 Vegetarian to vegan - Rebelling against Jonina's mother's vegetarianism as a teenager - Being vegetarian. Not understanding dairy - Seeing slaughterhouse footage & going vegan together with Jonina's partner - Social indoctrination re: animal ethics & the supernatural - Climate change - The relationship between scarcity & morality. Is it harder to be moral under scarcity? ...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.

    1h 13m
  5. "That system will be history... Our job is just to speed that up" - Thom Norman of ‪FarmKind‬.giving - Sentientism 215

    OCT 5

    "That system will be history... Our job is just to speed that up" - Thom Norman of ‪FarmKind‬.giving - Sentientism 215

    Thom Norman is the co-founder of FarmKind, a new non-profit focused on raising money for some of the best farmed animal charities. FarmKind is designed to help donors both have a big impact for animals and donate to the organisations they care about most. It allows users to split donations between an expert-recommended super-effective charity and their favourite charity, then provides a bonus on both. In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the most important questions: “what’s real?”, “who matters?” and "how can we make a better world?" Sentientism answers those questions with "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. 00:00 Clips! 00:56 Welcome - Cameron King episode 02:30 Thom's Intro - Co-founding @farmkind  - "What's the thing I can do best... to tackle the issue of factory farming?"... "We believe the single biggest thing... is to donate to the right charities... we help people to do that" - Finding charities that do great work and making donating to those charities super-easy 03:44 What's Real? - A very, very religious family "church is an integral part... of their worldview... also social structures" - "Broadly a positive thing" - Anglican, Church of England Christian - Asking philosophical questions that "hit up against some bible verse or god - and that's the end of the conversation" - Conversations with some Christians about animals: "Humans are made in the image of god... we are above other animals... that is kind of the end of the conversation" - "As someone who increasingly... took the suffering of animals very seriously... I don't think that's where the conversation should end... and for many Christians that's not where it ends" - "You can think that humans matter more than animals and still think that animals do matter" - "We can still agree on basic things like 'suffering is bad'... 'animals suffer'... 'if there are things we can do to prevent suffering'... 'then it seems obvious that that's a good thing'" - The people working within religious communities to emphasise more universal sentiocentric compassion... #ahimsa, #stewardship, care and compassion, mercy - Reading religious apologetics and secular points of view - "I don't know what I think... a pragmatic pragmatism?... what version of the world do I see that allows me to operate... to move through it... even if epistemically or ethically that's not 100% perfectly logically sound" - Humility... "We need to be clear that we're not sure that we're right" - Donating to the most effective charities "is not the only thing people care about"... so FarmKind allows donation splitting... head and heart donations - The tension between different values... more rational and more intuitive / personal - "It's very important we don't disregard those emotional reasons" 15:03 What Matters? 26:00 Who Matters? 38:24 A Better World? 01:08:37 Follow Thom and FarmKind   - Farmkind.giving (sign up to the newsletter!) - @FarmKindThom - Thom on LinkedIn And more... full show notes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sentientism.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sentientism.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    1h 12m
  6. "This great unresolved tension of modern life" - Monica Murphy & Bill Wasik - Sentientism 214

    SEP 25

    "This great unresolved tension of modern life" - Monica Murphy & Bill Wasik - Sentientism 214

    Bill Wasik is the editorial director of The New York Times Magazine. Monica Murphy is a veterinarian and a writer. Their previous book, Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus, was a Los Angeles Times best seller and a finalist for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. Their latest book, "Our Kindred Creatures" makes a case for seeing the fight against animal cruelty as a crucial thread in America's history. Readers are introduced to the activists, scientists, andmoguls who helped create our modern views on animals, with our intense compassion for certain species and ignorant disregard for others. In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the most important questions: “what’s real?”, “who matters?” and "how can we make a better world?" Sentientism answers those questions with "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. 00:00 Clips! 01:09 Welcome - "Our Kindred Creatures" as an example of Sentientist History? 03:30 Monica and Bill's Intros - Writing two books together: Rabid and Our Kindred Creatures - "...Monica's interest in animals [as a veterinarian] that I think got me interested" - Telling the story of how the animal welfare movement came to the USA in the decades after the civil war - The emergence of the modern way of thinking about animals "some of them are like members of the family... others of them in huge numbers are excluded..." - "Everyday people in cities... were living among all kinds of animals in a way that feels very foreign to us today" 07:18 What's Real? - Meeting in a church youth group, Bill's family more devout than Monica’s - "It was not a creationist church... there was a sense that we weren't going to doubt what science was telling us just because we were part of a religious tradition that had a different story" - "'In a world in which there's no god why should we care at all about human suffering?'... runs implicitly through the book - many of the people we write about are religious" - Links between religion, the abolition of slavery and animal ethics "though of course the slavers themselves had various bible verses that they waved around" - "Today we're Unitarian Universalists... go to church on Sundays and Bill sings in the choir" - "Our Unitarian church is a very humanist church... animals don’t' come up much... some other Unitarian churches have animal affinity groups" - "There are also a lot of atheistic Unitarians... our church leans atheistic... the younger people even more so" - "Whatever concept of god that I have wouldn't conform with traditional ones - it's more notional" - "We came back to religion because of our son... he was a very loud atheist... a disrespectful atheist... we wanted him to expand his thinking" - "Even though we occupy three different spots in our family on the atheistic side of the spectrum we're very at home in this church" 25:27 What and Who Matters? 52:43 A Better World? 01:12:27 Follow Bill and Monica - @murphydvm - @billwasik - Our Kindred Creatures And more... full show notes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sentientism.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sentientism.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    1h 15m
  7. "Spirituality is a great way in which capitalism commodifies people's belief" - Richard Twine of Edge Hill University - Sentientism 213

    SEP 15

    "Spirituality is a great way in which capitalism commodifies people's belief" - Richard Twine of Edge Hill University - Sentientism 213

    Richard Twine is Reader in Sociology at Edge Hill University in the UK, working at the nexus of critical animal studies, environmental sociology, the sociology of climate change and gender studies. He is co-director of The Centre for Human Animal Studies, an interdisciplinary forum for research and activities that engage with the complex material, ethical and symbolic relationships between humans, other animals, and their environments. Richard is the author of many articles, papers and books for both academic audiences and the wider public, including "The Climate Crisis and Other Animals". In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the most important questions: “what’s real?”, “who matters?” and "how can we make a better world?" Sentientism answers those questions with "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. 00:00 Clips! 00:43 Welcome 02:34 Richard's Intro - Philosophy, psychology, history, natural sciences, bio-technology and sociology - Ecofeminism (Carol Adams, Val Plumwood), Regan, Singer, then Critical Animal Studies - The "flawed awakenings" of climate change awareness and non-human animal ethics 05:28 What's Real? - Non-religious, implicitly atheist, socialist parents and household - Attending Sunday School with a Christian friend "It didn't have any effect - it was just another space to play" - A religious teacher who "made us recite the Lord's Prayer at the start of every day... that was odd... that kind of drove me away from religion" - Asking for an exemption from religious education at secondary school "Probably sociologically limited because it's actually good to learn about religion... but I already knew that wasn't something that I wanted to spend my time doing" - A materialist outlook "when we die, we die... decompose and feed the rest of nature... a kind of beautiful thing... I don't believe in an afterlife" - Avoiding dogmatism about materialism. Interested in near-death experiences - "I'm on board with that aspect of Sentientism - reason and evidence... but I would also add that my atheism isn't simplistically rationalistic... elements of romanticism in it... Shelley... beauty and wonder of nature giving us some kind of meaningfulness in our lives... that's enough." - "There's a poor track record with religiosity and conservative ideology... distanced me from it... used to justify patriarchy, anthropocentrism, colonialism, capitalism etc." - A hobbyist interest in UFOs and UAPs "stems from my childhood... subscribed to a magazine called 'The Unexplained'... I've always had that interest but ultimately - give me some evidence." - Conspiracy theories and cover-ups "I'm sceptical but I'm fascinated" - Richard's "'Alien' Disclosure and Critical Animal Studies" blog post 26:48 What Matters? 32:59 Who Matters? 58:29 A Better World? 01:21:12 Follow Richard - RichardTwine.com - @RichardTwine - The Centre for Human Animal Studies at Edge Hill University - @CfHAS - The Climate Crisis and Other Animals And more... full show notes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sentientism.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sentientism.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    1h 24m
  8. "You don't really have to convince people to be compassionate" - Jesse Tandler MD of New Roots Institute - Sentientism 212

    SEP 8

    "You don't really have to convince people to be compassionate" - Jesse Tandler MD of New Roots Institute - Sentientism 212

    Jesse Tandler is Managing Director of New Roots Institute. He oversees programming, people operations, and implementation of New Roots Institute's strategy. Jesse is a writer, academic, and has been an educator for nearly two decades. He earned a B.A. from UC Berkeley in 2002 and an MFA from the New School in 2007. Shortly thereafter, he began teaching high school students about the ethics of our food culture. Later, during his PhD work, Jesse continued to include environmental and animal ethics on the syllabi of his undergraduate classes at the City University of New York, where for five years he taught philosophy, literature, writing, and rhetoric. In 2017, he moved to Los Angeles to apply his years of research and educational experience in the non-profit sphere. Outside of New Roots Institute, you may find him practicing yoga, appreciating beauty in its myriad forms, reading in one of his preferred languages, or teaching food politics at UCLA.  In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the most important questions: “what’s real?”, “who matters?” and "how can we make a better world?" Sentientism answers those questions with "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. 00:00 Clips! 01:09 Welcome 02:55 Jesse's Intro - Continental philosophy, teaching food politics and running New Roots Institute (was the Factory Farming Awareness Coalition) 03:32 What's Real? - Jewish pre-school - "I assumed there was a god because that's what the adults told me" - At 6-7 yrs old "It seemed slightly improbable to me because there was no other evidence for it" - At 4-5 yrs "I started getting really concerned about death and what was going to happen when I died... the annihilation of my consciousness" - "I asked my dad and he said 'of course there's no god'... I felt validated actually" - Next 15 years "a very atheistic worldview... probably some contempt for religion and people who believed in something that seemed completely impossible to me... I was pretty loud about it..." - "Very few atheists around me..." A 9th grade debate: "Is there a god... it was pretty much me against the class" - "It became a point of identity for me... in middle school and high school" - "Some of my points of identity - like being a meat-eater - had changed drastically" - College at Berkeley, psychedelics "It opened me up to the possibility that I might just not be seeing everything... my five senses were limited... I had a circumscribed intellect... it was unlikely I had access to whatever the reality out there is." - "Us looking at the universe is like a dog looking at the TV... the dog has no idea what's going on with the TV... I barely have any idea..." - 2 layers: phenomenon "what we experience" then "something else going on that we just don't really have access to - maybe some kind of spiritual access.. intuitive access.. but we can't figure out empirically." 20:38 What Matters? 35:38 Who Matters? 46:47 A Better World? 01:19:29 Follow Jesse: - New Roots Institute - Jesse on LinkedIn - @jmtandler And more... full show notes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sentientism.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sentientism.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    1h 22m
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5
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About

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

Information

  • Creator
    Jamie Woodhouse
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2024
  • Episodes
    218
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Jamie Woodhouse
  • Show Website
    Sentientism

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