Sentientism is a simple worldview that commits to evidence and reason and grants moral consideration to all sentient beings. It rejects supernatural beliefs and ethics and suggests we should show compassion based on the sentience of a being, not on its species or some other characteristic or relationship. Sentience is primarily the capacity to have experiences, the ability to suffer or flourish.

There are many arguments against sentientism. I plan to extend this article to set out a steelman (best version) for each, along with a response.

In the meantime, here’s a radically over-simplified slide from a recent seminar I gave on sentientism at the University of Winchester.

  
Let me know what you think in the comments below or via  @Sentientism on Twitter. More arguments, better responses or arguments with the responses are all very welcome.