Sentientism Facts for Kids

Sentientism is a way of thinking about what is right and wrong. It's like a special kind of philosophy that helps us decide how to act. People who follow sentientism use facts and careful thinking to form their beliefs. They don't believe things unless there's good proof.

Sentientism teaches that we should care about all sentient beings. A sentient being is anything that can feel good or bad things, like happiness or pain. This includes humans, most animals, and maybe even smart robots or aliens in the future! Sentientists believe we should care more about beings that can feel more deeply.

People who agree with sentientism are called sentientists. They often don't believe in a god (they are atheist) and often focus on human values and reason (they are humanist). Many sentientists are also vegan or vegetarian because they believe it's the right thing to do for animals.

Things that are not sentient, like plants, rivers, or mountains, can't feel anything. Sentientists believe these things are important because they affect how sentient beings feel. But we don't need to care about them directly, because they can't suffer or feel joy themselves.

Sentientist ideas have been around for a long time. Famous thinkers like Jeremy Bentham wrote about them, and modern philosophers like Richard D. Ryder and Peter Singer continue to explore these ideas today.

What Makes Sentientism Different?
People Who Support Sentientism
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What Makes Sentientism Different?

Sentientism is different from some other ways of thinking.

Sentientism vs. Speciesism

Speciesism is when people think that one type of animal (like humans) is more important than others just because of their species. Sentientism is different because it looks at how much a being can feel, not what species it is. So, a being that can feel a lot, no matter its species, would be cared about more.

Sentientism vs. Painism

Painism focuses only on the ability to feel pain. Sentientism is broader. It considers both the ability to feel pain and the ability to feel positive things, like happiness or pleasure, when making moral choices.

Sentientism vs. Animalism

Animalism agrees that humans are animals, and we should care about all animals. Sentientism agrees with this! But sentientism also says we should care about sentient beings that are not animals, like future artificial intelligences or intelligent aliens.

People Who Support Sentientism

Many well-known people have shown support for sentientist ideas. Sometimes, they are directly called sentientists. Other times, their beliefs as atheists, humanists, vegans, or vegetarians show that they agree with sentientist ideas.

Some notable people include:

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English philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) was an early supporter of caring about all sentient beings.

Sentientism facts for kids

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