Abstract
Sentience is not the preserve of human animals; it is shared by all animals. Once this is accepted, it raises questions about rights, responsibilities and where we draw the line of inclusion and exclusion when making policy decisions. It has implications for ethics, law, governance and democracy and the way in which education is framed at the primary, secondary, tertiary and vocational level. Nussbaum has stressed the need to extend the boundaries of rights and responsibilities to all sentient beings. Many indigenous first nations extend the boundary to protect totemic kin that may include organic and inorganic life, which has implications for social and environmental justice.
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Notes
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Meijer (2016: 74) also stresses that the mirror test, developed by western male academics should not be regarded as the basis for deciding on species intelligence or sense of self. She adds that Gorillas do not gaze directly at others, as it is aggressive behaviour, a further reason why this sort of test is inaccurate. Many species are able to communicate as highlighted by Meijer (2016) who stresses that bats sing, bees dance, domestic dogs, cats and horses read our behaviour and body language, parrots use language to achieve goals, primates have learned sign language and dolphins have specific sounds which equate to names.
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https://www.stopecocide.earth/dare-to-be-great The website defines the concept that is now widely cited by world leaders such as Pope Francis, Greta Thunberg and Jane Goodall.
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Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2020, Introduced by Susan Close MP.
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https://www.9news.com.au/national/voluntary-euthanasia-bill-south-australia-parliament-assisted-dying-closer/923c46c6-a64f-43aa-b76e-849c0e4687f7. 6:30pm May 6, 2021 accessed 5/08/2022.
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Her argument is that if she had the right to medication that could end her life painlessly that she would go on living right up until the last stages knowing that she had the right and the power or control to end it. She summed it up by saying that denying elderly people the right was cruel, but she did not enter the argument of how younger people would feel if they were also bereft of capabilities and reliant on the kindness of others.
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The last stages of dying are not easy for those with many kinds of cancer, for example. It was harrowing to beg for more pain management for a relative. I was not the primary advocate and to be honest I think it was insufficient and so did my family members.
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As stressed throughout this work and in several sole and joint chapters by McIntyre in ‘From Polarisation to Multispecies Relationships’ (McIntyre-Mills & Corcoran Nantes, 2021) and in a special essay for the ISSS bulletin (2021): “Nussbaum (2006) stresses the need for the right to a life worth living to be extended to all sentient beings. Nussbaum’s (2011) ten capabilities are directly concerned with wellbeing, a life worth living and the extent to which these can be addressed. These capabilities, include: (1) living a life that is not cut short prematurely (2) bodily health, (3) bodily integrity, (4) sense, imagination, and thoughts,(5) emotions, (6) practical reason, (7) Affiliation, (8) links to other species, (9) Play, (10) Control over one’s environment.”
Nussbaum wrote with Amartya Sen on capabilities but in her own version she focuses on protecting “areas of freedom so central that their removal makes a life not worthy of human dignity” (p. 31)
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Netherlands backs euthanasia for terminally ill children under-12. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54538288, 14th October, 2020.
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Ivens, S. 2015 New Zealand Legally Recognises Animals as ‘Sentient’ Beings https://animalequality.org.uk/blog/2015/05/12/new-zealand-legally-recognises-animals-as-sentient-beings/#:~:text=New%20Zealand%20takes%20a%20monumental,%2C%20are%20%E2%80%9Csentient%E2%80%9D%20beings
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https://www.worldanimalprotection.org.nz/news/why-we-need-minister-animal-welfare
Why we need a Minister for Animal Welfare23/10/2020
.. – human and animal health and survival are co-dependant – and yet we do nothing.
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https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2011/S00018/safe-pleased-to-see-the-role-of-minister-responsible-for-animal-welfare-returned.htm Monday, 2 November 2020, 3:19 pm Press Release: SAFE NZ
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McIntyre-Mills, J.J. (2022). Public Education on the Rights of Sentient Beings to a Life and Death Free of Suffering. In: McIntyre-Mills, J.J., Corcoran-Nantes, Y. (eds) Transformative Education for Regeneration and Wellbeing. Contemporary Systems Thinking. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3258-8_11
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