The question of invertebrate sentience is surely important, but I’m not sure if further research on this is a top priority. Some relevant uncertainties:
Would further research significantly reduce uncertainty about invertebrate sentience? It seems that most people who thought about this have settled on something like “there is a significant chance that many invertebrate taxa are sentient, but we don’t know for sure”.
To what is society’s lack of moral concern for invertebrates due to the belief that invertebrates are not sentient, rather than other factors (e.g. disgust reaction towards many invertebrates, or the difficulty of avoiding harm to insects in everyday life)?
Thanks again for sharing your views. Regarding the role of further research, first, we should keep in mind that the scientific literature in invertebrate sentience is still scarce, and the extent to which invertebrates have been investigated varies. Thus, there are some particular species about which there is a comparatively great deal of knowledge (e.g., fruit flies). But for several other taxa, potentially consciousness-indicating features have not been investigated at all. It is unknown if many invertebrate taxa display particular anatomical, physiological, or behavioral functions that seem to be necessary for consciousness (e.g., nociceptors in honey bees). Especially in these cases, I think further research may significantly reduce current uncertainty.
Additionally, we should consider that the scientific community does not agree that many invertebrate taxa are sentient. Probably, the only exception are cephalopods. In this case, we have seen how further research has led to relevant ethical discussions and specific welfare measures on the use of live cephalopods in science (at least, in Europe). Some researchers believe that in the future, other invertebrate taxa will face similar challenges, and additional research will promote further discussions on invertebrate welfare. Similarly, new research would also contribute to identify the most determining factors in invertebrates’ quality of life and prioritize forms of intervention.
Nevertheless, lack of scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent potential suffering –especially in cases of potential threats of serious or irreversible harms. Do you have other ideas about this?
Your question about society’s lack of moral concern for invertebrates is very interesting. In general, existing knowledge about our attitudes towards invertebrates mostly looks into occurrent, spontaneous, or superficial responses that people tend to experience in the course of their everyday life (e.g., disgust, as you say). But, importantly, those attitudes do not necessarily reflect people’s views on the moral consideration of invertebrates, or their actual behavior towards these animals. For example, even if someone feels disgust towards insects, that does not necessarily entail that she believes they are not sentient, that their pain does not matter or that using insecticide is morally innocuous. Apparently, most people have not even thought about these issues as moral problems and, in turn, may hold a collection of unreflected ideas. If you’re interested in this, I’ve just published a new post about our attitudes towards invertebrates and challenges.
Great work—thanks for writing this up!
The question of invertebrate sentience is surely important, but I’m not sure if further research on this is a top priority. Some relevant uncertainties:
Would further research significantly reduce uncertainty about invertebrate sentience? It seems that most people who thought about this have settled on something like “there is a significant chance that many invertebrate taxa are sentient, but we don’t know for sure”.
To what is society’s lack of moral concern for invertebrates due to the belief that invertebrates are not sentient, rather than other factors (e.g. disgust reaction towards many invertebrates, or the difficulty of avoiding harm to insects in everyday life)?
Hi Tobias!
Thanks again for sharing your views. Regarding the role of further research, first, we should keep in mind that the scientific literature in invertebrate sentience is still scarce, and the extent to which invertebrates have been investigated varies. Thus, there are some particular species about which there is a comparatively great deal of knowledge (e.g., fruit flies). But for several other taxa, potentially consciousness-indicating features have not been investigated at all. It is unknown if many invertebrate taxa display particular anatomical, physiological, or behavioral functions that seem to be necessary for consciousness (e.g., nociceptors in honey bees). Especially in these cases, I think further research may significantly reduce current uncertainty.
Additionally, we should consider that the scientific community does not agree that many invertebrate taxa are sentient. Probably, the only exception are cephalopods. In this case, we have seen how further research has led to relevant ethical discussions and specific welfare measures on the use of live cephalopods in science (at least, in Europe). Some researchers believe that in the future, other invertebrate taxa will face similar challenges, and additional research will promote further discussions on invertebrate welfare. Similarly, new research would also contribute to identify the most determining factors in invertebrates’ quality of life and prioritize forms of intervention.
Nevertheless, lack of scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent potential suffering –especially in cases of potential threats of serious or irreversible harms. Do you have other ideas about this?
Your question about society’s lack of moral concern for invertebrates is very interesting. In general, existing knowledge about our attitudes towards invertebrates mostly looks into occurrent, spontaneous, or superficial responses that people tend to experience in the course of their everyday life (e.g., disgust, as you say). But, importantly, those attitudes do not necessarily reflect people’s views on the moral consideration of invertebrates, or their actual behavior towards these animals. For example, even if someone feels disgust towards insects, that does not necessarily entail that she believes they are not sentient, that their pain does not matter or that using insecticide is morally innocuous. Apparently, most people have not even thought about these issues as moral problems and, in turn, may hold a collection of unreflected ideas. If you’re interested in this, I’ve just published a new post about our attitudes towards invertebrates and challenges.