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Are non-human entities sentient, i.e., capable of experiencing conscious states? This seminar will explore this question through a four-part series:
- Fundamentals. We will begin by examining foundational theories of human consciousness and the empirical challenges involved in studying non-human consciousness. We will consider how different animal species may exhibit different “sentient profiles”, varying according to their respective cognitive capacities.
- Evolution. In the second part, we will adopt an evolutionary perspective to understand sentience. We will explore how the capacity for sentience evolved across different animal species as a mechanism to coordinate complex behavior, encompassing processes from sensing to valuing. We will discuss the hypothesis that sentience may be a gradual rather than a binary trait.
- Artificial systems. The third part will focus on contemporary philosophical debates on whether artificial systems can possess capacities such as agency, sentience, and affect (valenced states). We will analyze recent views and research findings on artificial intelligence and robotics in relation to these concepts.
- Ethical implications. Finally, we will discuss the ethical considerations that arise from the idea that sentience may be distributed differently across various entities, including humans, animals and artificial systems. This discussion will focus on the moral responsibilities towards entities with different levels and types of sentience.
The seminar will be conducted in English.
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