Sentientism

Sentientism (or sentiocentrism) is an ethical view that places sentient individuals at the center of moral concern. It holds that both humans and other sentient individuals have interests that must be considered.[1] Gradualist sentientism attributes moral consideration relatively to the degree of sentience.[2]

Sentientists consider that arbitrarily giving different moral weight to sentient beings based solely on their species membership is a form of unjustified discrimination known as speciesism. Many self-described humanists see themselves as "sentientists" where the term humanism contrasts with theism and does not describe the sole focus of humanist concerns. Sentientism stands in opposition to the philosophy of anthropocentrism.[3]

  1. ^ Hettinger, Ned (1998). "Environmental Ethics" (PDF). In Bekoff, Marc; Meaney, Carron A. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Animal Rights and Animal Welfare. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 159. ISBN 9780313352553.
  2. ^ Allegri, Francesco (June 2023). "Beyond Anthropocentrism? Yes, but in What Direction?". Relations. Beyond Anthropocentrism. 11. doi:10.7358/rela-2023-01-allf.
  3. ^ Baber, Walter F.; Bartlett, Robert V. (2015). Consensus and Global Environmental Governance: Deliberative Democracy in Nature's Regime. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-262-52722-4.