The relevance of sentience

Abstract

The article posits that sentience is morally important, offering compelling arguments for the sentience of many nonhuman animals and against speciesism, the view that only humans are deserving of full moral respect. It maintains that sentience, rather than being merely alive, is what matters when considering moral consideration, and that individuals, rather than systems or species, are the appropriate recipients of moral concern. The article also criticizes the widespread environmentalist view that animals and plants matter insofar as they are exemplars of certain species, arguing that this position fails to consider the moral relevance of sentience and the interests of sentient individuals. – AI-generated abstract.