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TagMarc Bekoff

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Clinical Psychologist Defends Human Exceptionalism

Gregg Henriques is responding to an evolutionary biologist who sees recognition of human uniqueness as “speciesism,” akin to racism and sexism
From a secular humanist perspective, he says roughly what Aristotle (384– 322 BC) and Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) would say about our unique human nature. Read More ›
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Close-up of a colorful lobster in a coral reef.

Edge of Sentience Summarizes Research on Animals’, AIs’ Feelings

And animal rights laws as well. But there is a dark side to Jonathan Birch’s approach too…

Philosophy prof Jonathan Birch, principal investigator of the Animal Sentience Project at the London School of Economics, has written a book on whether and how animals feel things: The Edge of Sentience (Oxford University Press 2024). It’s not as arcane a topic as it might at first appear. It shows up in new legislation and think tanks. At Amazon, we learn, for example, “In 2021, he led a review for the UK government that shaped the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022. In 2022-23, he was part of a working group that investigated the question of sentience in AI.” And as Birch told Marc Bekoff at Psychology Today, I’m probably best-known for my work on invertebrate sentience, which is one part Read More ›