Sentience and animal consciousness
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how philosophers and scientists use evidence to argue for different positions about conciousness in animals.
Key learning points
- There is much deabte amongst scientists as to whether animals have conciousness.
- The debate centres on the defintion of conciousness and the evidence for it.
- Some scientists and philosophers prefer the term sentience.
- Different understandings lead to different attitudes towards animals.
Keywords
Awareness - noticing or knowing something is happening
Consciousness - the state of being aware of and able to think about one's existence, thoughts and surroundings
Sentience - the capacity to experience pain or pleasure
Suffering - the experience of pain or distress
Common misconception
Sentience and consciousness mean the same thing.
Sentience refers to the ability to feel pain or pleasure, but consciousness is broader; it can include awareness, self-reflection and thought.
Teacher tip
Encourage students to use the terms consciousness and sentience in discussions about how animals should be treated.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Descartes' evil demon is a thought , not a real creature.
Q2.In Hilary Putnam’s ‘brain in a vat’ experiment, the brain receives experiences through:
Q3.Descartes argued that thinking proves a person’s...
Q4.Which philosopher is most associated with dualism?
Q5.According to physicalism, mental states are states.
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Match each keyword to its meaning:
Q2.Some people say animal behaviour shows consciousness; others say it is just...
Q3.Which animals are often used as examples of advanced cognition?
Q4.Sentience provides a moral basis for concerns.
Q5.Peter Singer’s view leads to an ethical focus on:
To help you plan your 10 religious education lesson on: Sentience and animal consciousness, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 religious education lesson on: Sentience and animal consciousness, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 religious education lessons from the Personhood: what does it mean to be alive? unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.