Recent studies actually show the opposite of “no sentience”.
Plants communicate with each other, even across different species and kingdoms.
That means certain animals for example can understand signals from plants better than they understand us.
And that’s just communication.
The world of life on earth is so much more than the naive human way of thinking.
In fact, it’s likely we’ve already encountered multiple different life forms from space already, and we just have no way to know yet.
So please.
Jump off the high horse, take off your hat, and acknowledge that the food on your plate has had a very diverse, colorful life.
You can still choose not to eat animals.
Just like I choose not to eat dogs and cats, some people see them no different to cows, pigs, and plants.
All living beings are capable of responding to external stimuli, both active and reactive. They are capable of basic friend/foe recognition. They are capable of adapting. These are just basic aspects of literally being alive. Even an amoeba can do these things to some extent or the other.
But does that put a turnip at the same level as a dog? It doesn’t in my books.
I’m not any high horse. The field is in it’s very nascent stages. But the evidence so far isn’t supporting the notion. We don’t live in Pandora.
This post is clearly trying to ruffle some feathers.
Very obvious bait post.
Plants are not sentient. Animals are.
All living organisms show basic reaction to external stimuli. Plants follow that. That does not indicate sentience.
Animals have significantly more intelligence than that. They form bonds, form relationships, mourn, and so on.
No living being except probably photosynthesis driven plankton can live entirely without consuming anything alive.
Recent studies actually show the opposite of “no sentience”. Plants communicate with each other, even across different species and kingdoms. That means certain animals for example can understand signals from plants better than they understand us.
And that’s just communication. The world of life on earth is so much more than the naive human way of thinking. In fact, it’s likely we’ve already encountered multiple different life forms from space already, and we just have no way to know yet.
So please. Jump off the high horse, take off your hat, and acknowledge that the food on your plate has had a very diverse, colorful life. You can still choose not to eat animals. Just like I choose not to eat dogs and cats, some people see them no different to cows, pigs, and plants.
It’s all just nutrients. So respect it.
Edit: Here’s an example of how much we understand what dogs see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf4k0VgCQjg
Fungi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tjt8WT5mRs
A pretty detailed discussion on the topic:
https://www.wellbeingintlstudiesrepository.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1772&context=animsent
All living beings are capable of responding to external stimuli, both active and reactive. They are capable of basic friend/foe recognition. They are capable of adapting. These are just basic aspects of literally being alive. Even an amoeba can do these things to some extent or the other.
But does that put a turnip at the same level as a dog? It doesn’t in my books.
I’m not any high horse. The field is in it’s very nascent stages. But the evidence so far isn’t supporting the notion. We don’t live in Pandora.
This post is clearly trying to ruffle some feathers.