To be sentient is to have positive or negative experiences, such as experiences of pain, pleasure, comfort, warmth, hunger, anxiety or joy. Humans are sentient, but are we alone?

This is one of the many questions the expert panel discussed during the LSE Festival 2022. Title of the talk: “Do Octopuses Have Feelings? The Question of Animal Sentience”

Speakers:
Jonathan Birch, LSE Philosophy Associate Professor and Principal Investigator on the Foundations of Animal Sentience project.

Penny Hawkins, Head of the Animals in Science Department at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA).

Huw Golledge,  Chief Executive Office and Scientific Director of both the Humane Slaughter Association and the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare.

Chair:
Bryan Roberts, Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science (CPNSS).

The video of the talk is now online: