Sentientism | Should non-sentient agents matter too? - Philosopher Nicolas Delon - Sentientism Ep:159 @Sentientism | Uploaded June 2023 | Updated October 2024, 20 minutes ago.
Nicolas (sentientism.info/sentientist-pledge/nicolas-delon) is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Environmental Studies at the New College of Florida. In Fall 2023, he will join the College of Charleston as Assistant Professor of Philosophy.
In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?” Sentientism is "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The audio is on our Podcast: apple.co/391khQO & https://anchor.fm/sentientism.
We discuss:
00:00 Welcome
01:55 Nico's Intro
- Philosophy PhD in France (the moral status of animals - a #relational theory)
- PostDoc @nyuanimalstudies2689
- Chicago Uni Law School w/ #MarthaNussbaum
- Asst. Prof @NewCollegeofFL
- #Vegan, dad, runner
03:17 What's Real?
- "I'm a pretty strong naturalist"
- A non-religious family - #protestant parents "a minority in France & in Belgium"
- Religion classes in Belgium: Segregated into #Catholic, Protestant & "the others"
- Father's ethos: "Self discipline, a sense of integrity... and he hated the Pope... but he didn't really believe in god... some higher order of things that he was not sure about... an #agnostic more than a #theist "
- No particular revelation, but didn't believe in god after 12-13 yrs old
- "A strong distrust of religious authorities"
- Studying philosophy, drawn to #spinoza and #nietzsche
- "#nietzsche has really stuck with me"
- As a pre-teen "I remember thinking... nasty things about god then feeling very guilty..."
- "The world just made more sense for me without a supernatural entity that would be its creator & legislator"
- There's so much we don't understand... because of a strong commitment to epistemic humility... I'm not in the habit of ruling out a priori the existence of things that we think don't fit the current worldview. That being said... I don't believe in a god... supernatural entities... ghosts."
- #Meditation & #psychedelics "I think there is such a thing as mystical experiences but... don't reveal really anything that is possibly hidden from a broadly naturalistic understanding of the world"
- "The naturalistic framework makes you enquire about the world... in constant revision"
11:15 What Matters?
- "Anti-realist on many issues... I'm not a moral realist"
- "I don't think there are real mind-independent facts about morality"
- "A Protestant integrity"
- "I grew up with #punkrock... gave rise to some of my commitments with respect to #animalrights "
- Talking about #anarchism with dad: "I disagree with them politically... but some of the most moral people I've ever met are anarchists"
- "Whether or not you believe in god... you can still have a commitment to right & wrong"
- "What I think I took from punk rock & in part from Nietzsche... is that people come up with their own values... and have to get along somehow."
- "There's room for moral talk - I wouldn't be an ethicist otherwise"
- If anything is going to be right or wrong... it's going to be... the result of some form of constructive/deliberative/expressive process"
- "Of course I was tempted by #nihilism" & #relativism
- Having a "robust commitment to justice" while rejecting hierarchy/authority is arguably more moral? (why dad respected anarchists)
- "Nihilism was the big worry for Nietzsche at the end of the 19th Century"
- "Some values are worth promoting but we have to think about which values... but they don't have a bedrock that's independent"
- Even without moral realism we have "tools to criticise other communities' moralities"
- Descriptive vs. normative assessments
- "There are sophisticated forms of relativism that are much more reasonable"
- "One of the ironies of some forms of relativism is that most human communities are not relativistic at all... [they] think that their morality is the correct one"
- Sharon Street's Humian non-Kantian #constructivism "it tolerates the possibility that some really different forms of rationality are possible... consistent with the basic value commitments that most of us have"
- "For the sorts of creatures that we are... born with some forms of attachments... the building blocks... things worth caring about... constructing... striving for cohesion... consistency between those different commitments"
- "You can be a moral anti-realist & at the same time have animal friendly commitments"
- Oliver Scott-Curry's view that morality is only about effective co-operation
- "We have a lot to learn from what people actually do... psychology... at the same time we are profoundly normative creatures."
29:53 Who Matters?
- Punk, @Propagandhiofficial @moby
1:15:11 Making a Better World?
& more... (sentientism.info for full notes)
#Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all #sentient beings.” More at sentientism.info/. Join our "I'm a Sentientist" wall sentientism.info/wall/.
Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. E.g.: facebook.com/groups/sentientism.
Nicolas (sentientism.info/sentientist-pledge/nicolas-delon) is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Environmental Studies at the New College of Florida. In Fall 2023, he will join the College of Charleston as Assistant Professor of Philosophy.
In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?” Sentientism is "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The audio is on our Podcast: apple.co/391khQO & https://anchor.fm/sentientism.
We discuss:
00:00 Welcome
01:55 Nico's Intro
- Philosophy PhD in France (the moral status of animals - a #relational theory)
- PostDoc @nyuanimalstudies2689
- Chicago Uni Law School w/ #MarthaNussbaum
- Asst. Prof @NewCollegeofFL
- #Vegan, dad, runner
03:17 What's Real?
- "I'm a pretty strong naturalist"
- A non-religious family - #protestant parents "a minority in France & in Belgium"
- Religion classes in Belgium: Segregated into #Catholic, Protestant & "the others"
- Father's ethos: "Self discipline, a sense of integrity... and he hated the Pope... but he didn't really believe in god... some higher order of things that he was not sure about... an #agnostic more than a #theist "
- No particular revelation, but didn't believe in god after 12-13 yrs old
- "A strong distrust of religious authorities"
- Studying philosophy, drawn to #spinoza and #nietzsche
- "#nietzsche has really stuck with me"
- As a pre-teen "I remember thinking... nasty things about god then feeling very guilty..."
- "The world just made more sense for me without a supernatural entity that would be its creator & legislator"
- There's so much we don't understand... because of a strong commitment to epistemic humility... I'm not in the habit of ruling out a priori the existence of things that we think don't fit the current worldview. That being said... I don't believe in a god... supernatural entities... ghosts."
- #Meditation & #psychedelics "I think there is such a thing as mystical experiences but... don't reveal really anything that is possibly hidden from a broadly naturalistic understanding of the world"
- "The naturalistic framework makes you enquire about the world... in constant revision"
11:15 What Matters?
- "Anti-realist on many issues... I'm not a moral realist"
- "I don't think there are real mind-independent facts about morality"
- "A Protestant integrity"
- "I grew up with #punkrock... gave rise to some of my commitments with respect to #animalrights "
- Talking about #anarchism with dad: "I disagree with them politically... but some of the most moral people I've ever met are anarchists"
- "Whether or not you believe in god... you can still have a commitment to right & wrong"
- "What I think I took from punk rock & in part from Nietzsche... is that people come up with their own values... and have to get along somehow."
- "There's room for moral talk - I wouldn't be an ethicist otherwise"
- If anything is going to be right or wrong... it's going to be... the result of some form of constructive/deliberative/expressive process"
- "Of course I was tempted by #nihilism" & #relativism
- Having a "robust commitment to justice" while rejecting hierarchy/authority is arguably more moral? (why dad respected anarchists)
- "Nihilism was the big worry for Nietzsche at the end of the 19th Century"
- "Some values are worth promoting but we have to think about which values... but they don't have a bedrock that's independent"
- Even without moral realism we have "tools to criticise other communities' moralities"
- Descriptive vs. normative assessments
- "There are sophisticated forms of relativism that are much more reasonable"
- "One of the ironies of some forms of relativism is that most human communities are not relativistic at all... [they] think that their morality is the correct one"
- Sharon Street's Humian non-Kantian #constructivism "it tolerates the possibility that some really different forms of rationality are possible... consistent with the basic value commitments that most of us have"
- "For the sorts of creatures that we are... born with some forms of attachments... the building blocks... things worth caring about... constructing... striving for cohesion... consistency between those different commitments"
- "You can be a moral anti-realist & at the same time have animal friendly commitments"
- Oliver Scott-Curry's view that morality is only about effective co-operation
- "We have a lot to learn from what people actually do... psychology... at the same time we are profoundly normative creatures."
29:53 Who Matters?
- Punk, @Propagandhiofficial @moby
1:15:11 Making a Better World?
& more... (sentientism.info for full notes)
#Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all #sentient beings.” More at sentientism.info/. Join our "I'm a Sentientist" wall sentientism.info/wall/.
Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. E.g.: facebook.com/groups/sentientism.
