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98 ratings | 29 reviews | avg rating:4.58

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Jonathan Birch

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Born

The United Kingdom

Genre

Philosophy

Member Since

March 2024

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I'm a Professor of Philosophy at the London School of Economics, where I direct The Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience. I study how science is transforming our understanding of the minds of other animals, and the implications of the science for ethics, policy and law. ...more

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Can you tell us a two-sentence horror story?

Jonathan Birch As recently at the the 1980s, surgery was routinely performed on newborn babies without anaesthesia. It took a public outcry to change clinical practi…moreAs recently at the the 1980s, surgery was routinely performed on newborn babies without anaesthesia. It took a public outcry to change clinical practice - underlining the value of involving the public in debates about the edge of sentience. (less)

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I've just finished reading The Edge of Sentience. While very thorough, it seems to me that an underexplored topic is why should we care at all about the possibility of the infliction of suffering in other sentient beings, especially those that might exist in a form so obscure that "suffering" might be meaningless. Did you mean to explore this topic and if you decided not to, why?

Jonathan Birch Thanks for reading! I'm not sure what specific cases you're thinking about. I can say it was a deliberate choice to discuss the human cases first, sta…moreThanks for reading! I'm not sure what specific cases you're thinking about. I can say it was a deliberate choice to discuss the human cases first, starting with patients with disorders of consciousness following severe brain injuries. In those cases, the need to take a risk of suffering seriously even when you're not sure, and even when considering a state of consciousness quite different from your own, is extremely easy to see. The thought is a very easy and natural one to have. And the book is structured so as to encourage the reader to hold that thought and carry it with them to harder and harder cases. Few people ask "why should I care at all?" when confronted with unresponsive patients in the ICU; that question only creeps in gradually as distance from humans increases. And I want to encourage the reader to ask themselves: did I have good reasons to have the "why should I care?" thought at that specific juncture (e.g. when we moved from fishes to invertebrates)? Is there a real difference in the cases that can justify the difference in my reactions, or is the difference a bias I cannot justify?(less)

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Jonathan Birch’s books

Average rating: 4.19 · 116 ratings · 28 reviews · 2 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Edge of Sentience: Risk and Precaution in Humans, Other Animals, and AI 4.17 avg rating — 106 ratings — published 2024 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Philosophy of Social Evolution 4.30 avg rating — 10 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Jonathan is Currently Reading

Jonathan Birch is currently reading

The Passenger (The Passenger #1)

by Cormac McCarthy

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Dec 05, 2024 05:37AM

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Jonathan Birch rated a book it was amazing Gandhi Before India by Ramachandra Guha	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This is a wonderful book. I read it after reading Gandhi's autobiography and after Pt 2 of Guha's biography - I read Pt 2 first because it starts in 1914 and picks up the story roughly where the autobiography stops (with some overlap). Gandhi Before ...more
21 hours, 52 min ago · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Gandhi Before India by Ramachandra Guha. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Gandhi Before India by Ramachandra Guha <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jonathan Birch wants to read On the Beach by Nevil Shute	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Jonathan Birch is now following Christine Donougher Author of The Wretched
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Jonathan Birch and 4 other people liked Jaxson Schneider's review of Les Miserables: "Truly incredible. Took 18 months off 3/4s of the way through…so glad I finished it."
Aug 17, 2026 10:55AM · see review
Jonathan Birch rated a book it was amazing Life of Pi by Yann Martel	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Jonathan Birch and 44 other people liked B SIDDLE's review of Great and Unfortunate Things: "Most people reviewing this book have done so before recent revelations. However, even without knowing the full extent of the lies that Mr Arday has told to embellish his CV, I cannot believe that any sensible person did not question the implausible c" Read more of this review »
Aug 13, 2026 12:22AM · see review
Jonathan Birch wants to read Prophecy: Prediction, Power, and the Fight for the Future, from Ancient Oracles to AI by Carissa Véliz	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 01, 2026 12:15AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Prophecy by Carissa Véliz. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Prophecy by Carissa Véliz <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jonathan Birch wants to read The Book of Minds: How to Understand Ourselves and Other Beings, from Animals to AI to Aliens by Philip Ball	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 04, 2026 12:58AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Book of Minds by Philip Ball. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Book of Minds by Philip Ball <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jonathan Birch wants to read Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime by Sean Carroll (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 06, 2026 01:58PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Something Deeply Hidden by Sean Carroll. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Something Deeply Hidden by Sean Carroll <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jonathan Birch and 1 other person liked James Bevan's review of Feeding Britain: Our Food Problems and How to Fix Them (Pelican Books): "Really interesting topic which needs to be higher up the agenda of everyone. However, the book wasn’t structured well and it spent too long on sharing stats about the problems we are facing. After a while it was just a bit depressing. It also started" Read more of this review »
May 11, 2026 01:35PM · see review