Jonathan  Birch

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Fernand...
2,343 books | 131 friends

Daniel
3,388 books | 53 friends

Shrilaxmi
647 books | 135 friends

Fin Moo...
2,072 books | 164 friends


Jonathan Birch

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Born
The United Kingdom
Genre

Member Since
March 2024


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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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)
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)
Average rating: 4.19 · 99 ratings · 26 reviews · 2 distinct worksSimilar authors
The Edge of Sentience: Risk...

4.18 avg rating — 89 ratings — published 2024 — 5 editions
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The Philosophy of Social Ev...

4.30 avg rating — 10 ratings4 editions
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The Passenger
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Jonathan’s Recent Updates

Feeding Britain by Tim Lang
"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 »
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The Black Book by Orhan Pamuk
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Demons by Fyodor Dostoevsky
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The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
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The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky
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Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
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The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
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Jonathan Birch has read
The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky
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Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
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The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
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