My brain came to a full stop here. One of those “have I ever seen these two in the same room” moments.
For anyone else like me:
Sentience is the ability to feel and perceive things. Sentient is the adjective form.
Sapience is the ability to think and acquire wisdom, and the capacity for intelligence. Sapient is the adjective form.
Sentient is often misused for any living creature that thinks, when sapient would be the correct word.
Modern humans are classified as homo sapiens.
I think the confusion is summed up by a quote by a park ranger talking about the design of trash cans in National Parks: (paraphrased)
There’s a lot of overlap between the smartest bear and the dumbest human.
So if I understand, both are sentient. But they vary widely on sapience.
Sentience is recognizing the trash can is there. Sapience is being able to figure out how to open the lid to access the trash and keeping the wisdom to open the next one easily.
Sentience is feeling either frustrated or happy based on the level of success.
“Sentience has broader and narrower senses. In a broad sense, it refers to any capacity for conscious experience. […] In a narrower sense, it refers to the capacity to have valenced experiences: experiences that feel bad or feel good to the subject, such as experiences of pain and pleasure”.
Also, here is an article about the Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness that strongly supports the claim that sentience is a trait shared by most, if not all, of the animal kingdom.
I’d put Octopuses way higher on the list than a dog.
Dogs aren’t more intelligent than cats or cows.
My list would be great apes, octopuses, dolphins, corvids, elephants
Border collies have made the list of the smartest animals before. There are different types of intelligence too, national geographic had dolphins, orcas, ravens/crows, parrots, border collies/dogs, chimpanzees. I feel like I’m forgetting one too.
Aren’t most animals sentient? Wiktionary says that it means “Experiencing sensation, thought, or feeling”. Even simple animals like flies are capable of “sensation”, and most complex animals experience all three. I would say “sapient” (“possessing intelligence or a high degree of self-awareness”) in this context.
You’re the scientist, what is the scientifically correct/used/accepted meaning of “sentient”? Or has it been found that most animals do not, or at least do not consciously in the way humans do, sense, think, or feel? Correct me if any of what I’m saying is wrong.
Of course animals are sentient. The arrogance of people to think we are the only animal capable of sentience, or intelligence of any kind. We have evolved to be better at some things than other animals, but they are all smarter than we are in ways. Dogs know more about smells than we do, remember a smell for life. They have a better sense of direction, as many wild animals do, and are better at remembering landscapes and vast wild areas.
You get into cold blooded animals and it changes somewhat, but all warm blooded animals are capable of more than we give them credit for. Cold blooded probably too but in a different way.
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One of the 5 animals believed to have the capacity for sentience? I think you mean consciousness?
The entire mammal kingdom is widely considered sentient. As are many other groups like fish and insects.
Even with consciousness it’s stretching it is very conservative to estimate just 5 species.
Afaik the terms are sentience vs sapience, which get constantly confused by everyone including me.
My brain came to a full stop here. One of those “have I ever seen these two in the same room” moments.
For anyone else like me: Sentience is the ability to feel and perceive things. Sentient is the adjective form.
Sapience is the ability to think and acquire wisdom, and the capacity for intelligence. Sapient is the adjective form.
Sentient is often misused for any living creature that thinks, when sapient would be the correct word.
Modern humans are classified as homo sapiens.
I think the confusion is summed up by a quote by a park ranger talking about the design of trash cans in National Parks: (paraphrased) There’s a lot of overlap between the smartest bear and the dumbest human.
So if I understand, both are sentient. But they vary widely on sapience.
Sentience is recognizing the trash can is there. Sapience is being able to figure out how to open the lid to access the trash and keeping the wisdom to open the next one easily. Sentience is feeling either frustrated or happy based on the level of success.
Unless I messed it up.
“Sentience has broader and narrower senses. In a broad sense, it refers to any capacity for conscious experience. […] In a narrower sense, it refers to the capacity to have valenced experiences: experiences that feel bad or feel good to the subject, such as experiences of pain and pleasure”.
Taken from https://academic.oup.com/book/57949/chapter/475703402
Also, here is an article about the Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness that strongly supports the claim that sentience is a trait shared by most, if not all, of the animal kingdom.
https://www.animal-ethics.org/10th-anniversary-of-the-cambridge-declaration-on-consciousness/
I’m taking a guess and saying Dogs, dolphins, an great apes… No idea that the last one could be.
Am I on the right track?
What, why dogs? They are dumber than cats, just good at understanding humans.
You forgot corvids.
Close! They are chimps, elephants, dolphins, octopus, and crows
First of all parrots are smarter than the lot, orcas, some dogs like border collies too, it’s a lot bigger than you are giving it credit for.
I’d put Octopuses way higher on the list than a dog.
Dogs aren’t more intelligent than cats or cows.
My list would be great apes, octopuses, dolphins, corvids, elephants
Octopuses are right next to God on the list.
Border collies have made the list of the smartest animals before. There are different types of intelligence too, national geographic had dolphins, orcas, ravens/crows, parrots, border collies/dogs, chimpanzees. I feel like I’m forgetting one too.
Orca, corvid, octopus, apes, elephant?
I’d guess parrots or crows over dogs.
Ravens
Aren’t most animals sentient? Wiktionary says that it means “Experiencing sensation, thought, or feeling”. Even simple animals like flies are capable of “sensation”, and most complex animals experience all three. I would say “sapient” (“possessing intelligence or a high degree of self-awareness”) in this context.
You’re the scientist, what is the scientifically correct/used/accepted meaning of “sentient”? Or has it been found that most animals do not, or at least do not consciously in the way humans do, sense, think, or feel? Correct me if any of what I’m saying is wrong.
Of course animals are sentient. The arrogance of people to think we are the only animal capable of sentience, or intelligence of any kind. We have evolved to be better at some things than other animals, but they are all smarter than we are in ways. Dogs know more about smells than we do, remember a smell for life. They have a better sense of direction, as many wild animals do, and are better at remembering landscapes and vast wild areas.
You get into cold blooded animals and it changes somewhat, but all warm blooded animals are capable of more than we give them credit for. Cold blooded probably too but in a different way.