Book description
This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read on the Oxford Academic platform and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations.
Can octopuses feel pain and pleasure? What about crabs,…
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Why read it?
1 author picked The Edge of Sentience as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I am a worrier, and as such I am concerned not only about the present state and future of humanity but also about all other sentient beings.
But what does ‘sentience’ actually mean? (At heart perhaps the ability to have experiences, good and bad.) What are our ethical responsibilities towards sentient beings? (Minimally perhaps not to cause them unnecessary suffering.) How can we know whether non-human animals, perhaps even plants and fungi or indeed digital entities, are sentient? (It seems we often can’t be sure.) How can we act in the face of radical uncertainty about the sentience of other…
If you love The Edge of Sentience...
December on 5C4
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
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