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POLITICS for ALL SENTIENT BEINGS About Us Effective ­Altruism

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POLITICS for ALL SENTIENT BEINGS About Us Effective ­Altruism POLITICS FOR ALL SENTIENT BEINGS About us Effective altruism SENTIENCE POLITICS IS AN for all sentient beings ANTI-SPECIESIST POLITICAL THINK-TANK. SENTIENCE POLITICS USES RATIONALITY AND EMPIRICAL ACTIVITIES OF EVIDENCE IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY AND IMPLEMENT THE SENTIENCE POLITICS MOST EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING SUFFERING. We believe equal suffering should We produce high-quality, evidence- count equally, regardless of the based policy papers external characteristics of the indivi- Our philosophy is based in effective If I am bound to do no injury to We run political initiatives to spread dual concerned, such as race, gender altruism: the view that we should use my fellow human beings, this is our message to broad audiences or species. That’s why we advocate our limited resources to help others less because they are rational than because they are senti­ a society that grants moral conside- We publish cutting-edge research in the most effective way possible. To ration to all sentient beings. We use in the form of academic papers and ent beings; and this quality is do this, we work to identify the most common both to humans and a rational and empirically grounded online articles effective leverage points for reducing animals. approach to achieve this goal. We organize events such as conferen- the suffering of all sentient beings. Jean-Jacques Rousseau ces and panel discussions philosopher and writer (1712 — 1778) Anti-speciesism is the rejection of discrimi­ nation on the basis of species membership. We provide careers advice and run Leverage points are places in com- workshops to help people find high- plex systems — such as the laws Sentience is the capacity to have conscious impact careers experiences, particularly the ability to experi­ of a country or a field of scientific ence suffering. It’s the only criterion for ethical We offer scholarships to promising research — where a small change in right leverage points, we can greatly con sideration that includes all human beings students and researchers one point can produce big changes reduce suffering simply by using our (no matter their cognitive abilities) and which precludes arbitrary discrimination. in the entire system. By finding the limited resources in the right way. The question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer? Jeremy Bentham philosopher and legal scholar (1748 — 1832) Plant-based diet Cultured meat SENTIENCE POLITICS PROMOTES PLANT-BASED DEVELOPING CULTURED MEAT IS A POTENTIALLY FOOD THROUGH POLITICAL INITIATIVES. HIGHLY EFFECTIVE LEVERAGE POINT. Factory farms and slaughterhouses ding daily plant-based options in all Large scale dietary change to a Sentience Politics outlines the bene- cause intense suffering to billions of public canteens. For the first time in plant-based diet may be difficult to fits of cultured meat in a position sentient individuals every year. More- history, about 500,000 Swiss citizens bring about. But in the coming deca- paper, and calls for more public and over, animal agriculture is a major will be able to take a binding vote on des, we may see cultured meat repla- private funding for research on cultu- contributor to climate change and a pro-vegan initiative. As the popular cing conventional meat production. red meat. resource inefficiency. debate around our initiative demon- strates, one of the main advantages This means cultured meat, together For these reasons, Sentience Poli- of our poli tical approach is that we with cultured eggs and cultured milk, tics has launched several “popular can spark large-scale societal debates have the potential to solve the pro- initia tives” in Switzerland deman- with very little effort. blem of factory farming entirely — and without requiring a large-scale change in dietary habits. Moreover, The strongest argument for a plant-based diet by removing the need to rationalize I. We should not harm animals unnecessarily (cruelty to animals). meat consumption, these techno- Cultured meat is created by growing stem cells in a medium. It offers a way towards the consump- II. The consumption of animal products harms animals. logical fixes could also facilitate a tion of real meat that does not cause suffering III. The consumption of animal products is unnecessary. change in popular moral attitudes to sentient beings. IV. Therefore, we should not consume animal products. towards animals. To give preference to the life of a being simply because that being is a member of our species would put us in the same position as racists who give preference to those who are members of their race. Peter Singer philosopher Photograph: Daniel Rüthemann In sober truth, nearly all the Basic rights for primates Further topics things which men are hanged or imprisoned for doing to SENTIENCE POLITICS CONDUCTS WE INCLUDE ALL SENTIENT one another are nature‘s every­ CAMPAIGNS DEMANDING BASIC RIGHTS BEINGS IN OUR CIRCLE OF EMPATHY, day performances. FOR ALL PRIMATES. EVEN AND PARTICULARLY THOSE John Stuart Mill WHO ARE USUALLY NEGLECTED. philosopher and economist If we aspire to help as many non- Denying an individual’s rights based solely human animals as we can in the long on external criteria like species membership term, we need to change the specie- is a form of arbitrary Consistent altruism for all sentient Since wild animals are no less ethi- sist attitude of our society, not just discrimination. beings encompasses not only farm cally important than other types of its current eating behaviour. One animals, but also wild animals. animals, we aim to reduce wild ani- promising way to challenge society’s We’re all familiar with the idea of mal suffering. However, the com- speciesism is to obtain basic rights nature as an idyllic place, but this plexity of ecosystems warrants a (particularly the rights to life and rights to other species. This will in romanticized view conceals the fact cautious approach. At present, we integrity) for non-human primates. turn help the trillions of animals who that trillions of wild animals suffer focus on conducting research and Although these legal protections will come to exist in the future. intensely due to starvation, disease, raising awareness of wild animal would only benefit a small number parasitism and predation. suffering. of individuals now, they may be cri- Moreover, granting non-human pri- tical in shaping how future genera- mates basic rights has the potential tions view all non-human animals. to spark societal and academic de- Once their legal status changes, non- bate about anti-speciesism outside Sentience Politics is also aware of the possibility of future digital sentience. human animals will be perceived dif- the polarizing context of people’s It remains to be seen whether and when it will be created, but if digitally sen- ferently, and it will be easier to extend everyday food choices. tient beings come into existence, they too deserve equal moral consideration. Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come. Victor Hugo writer (1802 — 1885) Photographs: www.sentience-politics.org/photo-credits Encouraging a culture of effective­ Counterintuitively, you can ness in animal organizations. save many more animals with Sentience Politics encourages your wallet than with your both organizations and donors to plate. Empirical data shows use their limited resources in the that when we decide whether Effective giving and where to donate, much ways which will have the greatest more is at stake than with our possible positive impact. food choices. DONATING TO EFFECTIVE ANIMAL Improving the funding situation: CHARITIES COULD BE EVEN One of the main barriers facing MORE IMPORTANT THAN GOING Adriano Mannino philosopher and co­founder of Sentience Meta-strategies the animal advocacy movement VEGETARIAN OR VEGAN. Politics is simply a lack of funds. So it’s SENTIENCE POLITICS PURSUES strategically crucial to spread A natural first step in helping non- sume ourselves. This is because do- META-STRATEGIES THAT MAY ideas such as effective giving and human animals is to adopt a plant- nations fund activists at NGOs to per- BE PIVOTAL FOR THE SUCCESS OF earning to give within the animal based diet. We believe this is very suade lots of people to make more THE ANIMAL MOVEMENT. advocacy movement. important. But the sheer scale of ani- animal-friendly food choices. mal suffering means that it’s crucial Meta-strategies try and multiply Effective movement­building: that we alleviate it in the most cost- Consequently, an increasing number our impact by working on a high- Creating new effective activists effective ways open to us. of effective activists are pursuing er level. Instead of helping directly, may be even more important earning to give as a career. They deli­ they enhance the animal advocacy than creating new vegans. Sen- That’s why we believe effective giving berately take up lucrative jobs – not in movement’s capacities first, for tience Politics therefore offers is essential. By donating signifi- order to get rich, but in order to dona­ greater leverage later on. This allows career workshops and scholar- cant amounts of money to the best te a large fraction of their earnings to us to use our resources to maximum ships to young academics and organi zations, we can save far more effective NGOs, where their donations advantage. Meta-strategic approa- professionals working as effective animals than we would directly con- can enable several full­time jobs. ches that have huge potential include: animal advocates. SUPPORT US WITH YOUR DONATION! By donating to Sentience Politics, This is only possible due to our you are casting your vote for a soci- fast-growing community of sup- ety where the interests of all sentient porters and volunteers. We hope beings have full moral and political you can join us. To keep up-to-date consideration, regardless of species with the latest ideas in making the membership.
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