[extropy-chat] I keep asking myself...

[Russell Wallace]

On 4/7/06, ben <benboc at lineone.net> wrote:
>
> The normal definition of Sentience simply means 'capable of sensing',
> which includes all life, i'd have thought. So i don't see any difference
> between the 'ordinary' and the 'Buddhist' definitions.


I don't know whether Buddhists think bacteria are sentient, but I'm pretty
sure they don't think thermostats are! :P The normal definition of the word
means capable of being conscious of what one is sensing. (In my opinion the
only sentient beings known to exist in the universe today are humans, though
a majority feel higher animals are to some degree sentient, and a
significant minority would extend it to at least some kinds of
invertebrates.)
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