Thought experiments, sentience, and animalism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10815802 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Margarida Hermida (0000-0002-0259-109X, University of Bristol, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 202 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Publication date | 2023-10-27 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Synthese (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0039-7857 • E-ISSN: 1573-0964 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s11229-023-04349-2 |
| OpenAlex | W4388191737 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 73 |
Animalism is prima facie the most plausible view about what we are; it aligns better with science and common sense, and is metaphysically more parsimonious. Thought experiments involving the brain, however, tend to elicit intuitions contrary to animalism. In this paper, I examine two classical thought experiments from the literature, brain transplant and cerebrum transplant, and a new one, cerebrum regeneration. I argue that they are theoretically possible, but that a scientifically informed account of what would actually happen shows that in none of the cases would the person be separated from the animal. Our intuitions in these cases, when adequately informed by neuroscience, do not conflict with animalism – rather, they suggest a correction of the animalist position: the persisting animal should be at least minimally sentient. Sentience animalism is a new formulation of the animalist account of personal identity that allows us to reconcile facts about our biological persistence conditions with the intuition that human persistence should involve some kind of psychological continuity
Aesthetics · Cognitive science · Epistemology · Identity (music) · Intuition · Metaphysics · Personal identity · Philosophy of language · Philosophy of mind · Philosophy of science · Prima facie · Self · Sentience · Human-Animal Interaction Studies · Neuroethics, Human Enhancement, Biomedical Innovations · Philosophy · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
Affective Neuroscience
What Are We?
The Evolution of the Sensitive Soul
Consciousness without a cerebral cortex
Subcortical and cortical brain activity during the feeling of self-generated emotions
Meaning and Reference
An Essay concerning Human Understanding
The Ancient Origins of Consciousness
The Feeling Animal
Should Animalists Be “Transplanimalists”
Human Beings Among the Beasts
Cats are not necessarily animals
Why animalism matters
Generic Animalism
Animalists on the run
Can thought experiments solve problems of personal identity
Confrontations with the Reaper
Was I Ever a Fetus
The animal, the corpse, and the remnant-person
Personal Identity and Dead People
Varieties of Animalism
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |