The idea that only humans are sentient

Abstract

Sentience, the capacity for positive and negative experiences, requires consciousness. While some deny nonhuman animal sentience, arguing its unprovability, their position is anthropocentric and inconsistent. It is impossible to definitively prove the absence of consciousness in beings with centralized nervous systems. Furthermore, radical skepticism about other minds, if applied consistently, should lead to doubting the consciousness of other humans as well. The most plausible and parsimonious view recognizes sentience in many nonhuman animals based on observable behavior, relevant physiology, and evolutionary logic. Attributing similar physiological processes (e.g., pain responses) in animals to different causes than in humans requires unnecessarily complex explanations. Therefore, multiple factors support the existence of sentience in a wide range of nonhuman animals. – AI-generated abstract.