Recent work has extended the boundaries of animal sentience to an unexpected degree. Claims of non-mammalian consciousness, including invertebrates and even plants, have been seriously proposed.

This one-day workshop, sponsored by the Centre for Philosophy of the Sciences, will explore the philosophical and ethical consequences of these extended boundaries. Speakers will be Johnathan Birch (LSE), Heather Browning (ANU), Monica Gagliano (UWA), Peter Godfrey-Smith (University of Sydney), Liz Irvine (Cardiff), Robert C. Jones (Cal State, Chico).  

Schedule: 

9:00    opening
9:10    Peter Godfrey-Smith “Mental Unity and Animal Experience."
10:10  Tea
10:30  Rob Jones "Is Sentientism like Racism?"
11:30  Heather Browning "Sentience research and welfare science: a promising partnership"
12:30  Lunch
2:00    Liz Irvine "Discourse eliminativism and gradualism about consciousness
3:00    Tea
3:20    Monica Gagliano: “In the Key of E for Empathy: on subjective experience and interconnectedness”
4:20   Jonathan Birch “Can a single neuron support subjective experience?” 
5:30   Close

Registration is free, but required for catering purposes. 

The Centre for the Philosophy of the Sciences held a one-day workshop on the topic of Animal Sentience on August 17th, 2018.

Speakers explored the scientific and ethical consequences of expanded definitions and boundaries of consciousness.
Among those giving talks were Johnathan Birch (LSE), Heather Browning (ANU), Monica Gagliano (UWA), Peter Godfrey-Smith (University of Sydney), Liz Irvine (Cardiff), and Robert C. Jones (Cal State, Chico).