FEELINGS: It’s time to celebrate animal sentience and stop squabbling
Being sentient means having the ability to feel. A large body of scientific evidence stemming from studies of diverse species clearly shows that many nonhuman animals are sentient beings. The latest research shows that the emotional lives of insects are richer than many of us have ever imagined. Furthermore, there are no degrees of sentience among different species; an individual’s joy and pain are their joy and pain. We must stop pretending that we don’t know this or that about animal sentience. It’s anti-science to claim that nonhumans aren’t sentient. We need more action. While we persist in pondering the obvious, ignoring what we already know and have long known, countless nonhuman victims continue to be abused by humankind.
PSYCHOLOGY TODAY: Being sentient means having the ability to feel. A large body of scientific evidence stemming from studies of diverse species clearly shows that many nonhuman animals (animals) are sentient beings. These studies also show that the biodiversity of sentience is large and growing, and insects are finding themselves living well within the sentience arena as full members of the sentience club. Research shows that the emotional lives of insects are richer than many of us have ever imagined—not just in the ever-popular bees, but also in flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches, and termites too. (Darwin himself thought this! In 1872, he wrote that insects “express anger, terror, jealousy, and love.”)…
I know some people will respond with something like, “We really don’t know whether pigs don’t like their tails being cut off or being castrated,” or “We need more data to know that animals get bored or enjoy play.” However, it’s high time to recognize that this sort of skepticism is unwarranted and responsible for widespread and continued abuse, given the evidential database we now have. Furthermore, there are no degrees of sentience among different species; an individual’s joy and pain are their joy and pain…
We must stop pretending that we don’t know this or that about animal sentience. We need more action. While we persist in pondering the obvious, ignoring what we already know and have long known, countless nonhuman victims continue to be abused by humankind, every minute of every day, planet-wide. There are no substitutes for rigorous research and detailed analyses of subtle behavior patterns that often go unnoticed. What we think about the nature of all sorts of animal minds truly matters for their welfare, and so it should matter to us…
The general public is closely following what science says about animal minds, and we must give them the latest and most reliable information available. We also need to listen to their stories because citizen science can guide research and inform how we interpret and explain the inner lives of other animals. It’s anti-science to claim that nonhumans aren’t sentient. It’s not anti-science to say we must use what we know on behalf of other animals and must stop pretending we need more data. The list of the continuing mistreatment of animals in places where they have been formally recognized as sentient beings and elsewhere in the world goes on and on…
Future human generations will surely look back and wonder how we could have continued failing to use the science, history, and politics of sentience to protect sentient nonhumans… We can, and we must do better. Solid science, evolutionary biology, comparative psychology, and a dose of common sense can lead the way. Surely, it’s time to stop wondering if other animals are sentient — they clearly are. MARC BEKOFF
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