

But suppose the case were otherwise, what would it avail? The question is not Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer? What else is it that should trace the insuperable line? Is it the faculty of reason, or, perhaps, the faculty of discourse? But a full-grown horse or dog is beyond comparison a more rational, as well as a more conversable animal, than an infant of a day, or a week, or even a month, old.
#Dictionary sentience skin#
The French have already discovered that the blackness of the skin is no reason why a human being should be abandoned without redress to the caprice of a tormentor. The 18th-century philosopher Jeremy Bentham compiled Enlightenment beliefs in Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (second edition, 1823, chapter 17, footnote), and he included his own reasoning in a comparison between slavery and sadism toward animals: Animal-rights advocates typically argue that any sentient being is entitled at a minimum to the right not to be subjected to unnecessary suffering, though they may differ on what other rights (e.g., the right to life) may be entailed by simple sentience. In the philosophy of animal rights, sentience implies the ability to experience pleasure and pain.

Thus, an animal qualifies as a sentient being. Sentience is simply awareness prior to the arising of Skandha. In Buddhism, the senses are six in number, the sixth being the subjective experience of the mind. Sentience in Buddhism is the state of having senses ( sat + ta in Pali, or sat + tva in Sanskrit).
#Dictionary sentience free#
The first vow of a Bodhisattva states: "Sentient beings are numberless I vow to free them." In Mahayana Buddhism, which includes Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, the concept is related to the Bodhisattva, an enlightened being devoted to the liberation of others. According to Buddhism, sentient beings made of pure consciousness are possible. Man is considered to be a sentient being of the fifth order. Water, for example, is a sentient being of the first order, as it is considered to possess only one sense, that of touch. In Jainism, all matter is endowed with sentience there are five degrees of sentience, from one to five. In Jainism and Hinduism, this is closely related to the concept of ahimsa, nonviolence toward other beings. Eastern religionĮastern religions including Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism recognize non-humans as sentient beings. Other philosophers (such as Daniel Dennett) disagree, arguing that all aspects of consciousness will eventually yield to scientific investigation. They do not deny that most other aspects of consciousness are subject to scientific investigation but they argue that subjective experiences will never be explained i.e., sentience is the only aspect of consciousness that can't be explained. Some philosophers, notably Colin McGinn, believe that sentience will never be understood, a position known as " new mysterianism".
#Dictionary sentience plus#
Sentience is a minimalistic way of defining " consciousness", which is otherwise commonly used to collectively describe sentience plus other characteristics of the mind. This is distinct from other aspects of the mind and consciousness, such as creativity, intelligence, sapience, self-awareness, and intentionality (the ability to have thoughts that mean something or are "about" something). In the philosophy of consciousness, "sentience" can refer to the ability of any entity to have subjective perceptual experiences, or " qualia".

Sensation, sense, sensory faculty, sentience, sentiency - sense - sensitisation, sensitization - perception, percipience, sensing - detector, sensing element, sensor - feel, tactile property - aesthesis, esthesis, feeling, sensation, sense datum, sense experience, sense impression - feeling - sensible - sensible, sensitive - sensitive Īesthetic, aesthetical, esthetic, esthetical - conscious ĭesensitise, desensitize - extrasensory, paranormal, supersensible, supersensory, suprasensitive (percipience sensing perception), (receptive susceptible amenable perceptive sensitive softhearted soft-boiled), (synoptic), (synoptic) Ībility, capability, capacity, faculty, power, skilfulness, skill - alter, change, modify - comprehend, perceive - detect, discover, find, notice, observe Percevoir par la peau (fr) Īptitude intellectuelle de l'individu (fr) Faculté de l'esprit (fr) Įnsemble (réunion d'éléments) (fr)
