noticing or knowing something is happening

the state of being aware of and able to think about one's existence, thoughts and surroundings

the capacity to experience pain or pleasure

Sentience and animal consciousness

Religious education

Self: what makes us who we are?

Consciousness: are we just brains in a vat?

Indigenous worldviews and personhood

Reflection: Is a river alive?

Pupils will consider what it is that makes a person who they are by examining religious and philsophical explanations for self and conciousness. Next, they will examine the idea of sentience in animals before evauating whether non-human objects of nature, such as rivers, can be said to be alive.

Personhood: what does it mean to be alive?

Subjects which particular individuals may be sensitive to, eg, adoption, migration, bereavement or death, divorce, poverty, deprivation.

Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Some people say animal behaviour shows consciousness; others say it is just...

Which animals are often used as examples of advanced cognition?

Sentience provides a moral basis for {{}} concerns.

Reducing suffering for all sentient beings

Peter Singer’s view leads to an ethical focus on:

Descartes' evil demon is a thought {{}}, not a real creature.

In Hilary Putnam’s ‘brain in a vat’ experiment, the brain receives experiences through:

Descartes argued that thinking proves a person’s...

Which philosopher is most associated with dualism?

According to physicalism, mental states are {{}} states.

Sentience and animal consciousness

Lesson outcome

Content guidance