Position
Sentientist Moral Standing
Direct moral standing extends to sentient beings because their capacity for suffering or enjoyment gives them interests that count; nonsentient entities lack standing in their own right.
Classification
- Position level
- specific
- Domains
- Ethics, Philosophy of Nature
Overview
Sentientism moves the boundary beyond the human species while retaining a capacity-based limit. A forest can matter as habitat for sentient creatures, for example, without the forest itself having interests or direct standing.
Position on
References
- Peter Singer, Animal Liberation (1975), ch. 1
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, The Moral Status of Animals, §1.4