The Edge of Sentience
Book description
This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read on the Oxford Academic platform and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations.
Can octopuses feel pain and pleasure? What about crabs,…
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Why read it?
1 author picked The Edge of Sentience as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I am a worrier, and as such I am concerned not only about the present state and future of humanity but also about all other sentient beings.
But what does ‘sentience’ actually mean? (At heart perhaps the ability to have experiences, good and bad.) What are our ethical responsibilities towards sentient beings? (Minimally perhaps not to cause them unnecessary suffering.) How can we know whether non-human animals, perhaps even plants and fungi or indeed digital entities, are sentient? (It seems we often can’t be sure.) How can we act in the face of radical uncertainty about the sentience of other…
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