Nick (@NickPende & theconversation) is a Sociologist who researches social movements, social change & Critical Animal Studies. He is a member of The Institute for Critical Animal Studies, the International Association of Vegan Sociologists & The Australian Sociological Association. Nick co-hosts the Freedom of Species podcast & radio show on Melbourne’s 3CR community radio station & also co-hosts the Progressive Podcast Australia podcast with his partner Katie.
In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?”
Sentientism is "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is here on YouTube.
We discuss:
00:00 Welcome
01:22 Nick's Intro
- Animal advocacy & social justice activism - doing them & studying them sociologically
- Hosting the Freedom of Species podcast & radio show
04:50 What's Real?
- Growing up non-religious w/agnostic (or atheist?) parents
- Joining a religious friend at Sunday School
- Being very anti-religious at 5-6 years old (a mini Richard Dawkins?) "This doesn't make any sense at all"
- "Religion or spirituality has zero impact on my ethics"
- Softening somewhat...
- "Myq Kaplan probably started off where I was before taking mushrooms... I've just never taken the mushrooms"
- Non-supernatural analogues for spirituality/supernatural: Flow states, rituals, habits
- The ethical problems of believing without evidence e.g. anti-vaxx
- Harry Potter & the Methods of Rationality fanfic
- Being open minded but not wasting our time on every implausible claim
- Religion as a brake on social progress (sexism, homophobia, speciesism...)
- Religion's positive & negative functions in society
- Reforming religions to conform w/secular ethics
- Threatening children w/eternal torture
22:35 What Matters?
- A Christian friend: "You seem like quite ethical people but you're not religious!"
- Socially progressive, liberal parents, so ethics came naturally
- Apathetic & apolitical as a kid. "I was more into ice hockey"
- Punk rock as a gateway into ethics & politics. Bad Religion
- Protesting the Iraq war
- Anti-war, pro-env, human rights, then animal rights & veganism "It just made total sense"
- Justice first, then compassion. More a rational than an emotional response
- Challenging hierarchies. Human & non-human
- "It didn't make sense that I was above my dog"
...and much more. Full show notes at Sentientism.info and on YouTube.
Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at Sentientism.info. Join our "I'm a Sentientist" wall via this simple form.
Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. The biggest so far is here on FaceBook. Come join us there!
Thanks Graham.
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sentientism/messageCheese Challenge & Pescetarian Paradox - Maja Cullen, Devon Docherty, Carol Jasper - Sentientism 200
"Reductionism is well-named. It reduces what you can do." - Michael Levin - Sentientism 199
"We need to imagine a different world" - Emilia Leese - author and host of Think Like a Vegan - Sentientism 198
Hip Hop is Going Green - Keith Tucker of Hip Hop is Green - Sentientism 197
Nigerian Food Revolution - Hakeem Jimo of Veggie Victory and ProVeg Nigeria - Sentientism 196
Consciousness Live! - with skateboarding philosopher Richard Brown - Sentientism 195
A Truly Humane Education - Laura Chepner - The Vegan Society's Education Officer - Sentientism 194
Imagining Ethical Schools - Sentientism 193
Is Veganic the Future of Farming? "We grow plants using plants" - Jimmy Videle - Sentientism 192
Half-Earth Socialism - Troy Vettese - Sentientism 191
"Your Neighbour Kills Puppies" - Tom Harris - Activist, Artist & Author - Sentientism 190
"A new world of animal justice" - Sabine Brels of World Animal Justice - Sentientism 189
Talking to Humanists about Sentientism - Cross-post bonus from Podcast for Inquiry - Sentientism 188
"What if we saw ourselves as species diplomats?" - David Peña-Guzmán of Overthink and SFSU - Sentientism 187
Could animal farming be good for the animals? The Logic of the Larder - with Nick Pendergrast - Cross-post bonus episode from 3CR's Freedom of Species radio show and podcast - Sentientism 186
"If you combine rationality and compassion you have the essence" - Jonathan Leighton of OPIS - Sentientism 185
Is veganism a moral obligation? Ghostless Machine cross-post bonus - Sentientism 184
Don't underestimate your influence! - Chris Bryant of Bryant Research - Sentientism 183
160: "Mother Cow, Mother India" - Yamini Narayanan - International Development A/Prof - Sentientism
Waking Cosmos - a cross-post bonus episode - Sentientism 182
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