Inside The Mind Of An Insect

Have you ever wondered what it's like to be a bee?

Lisa Heldke, Director of the Nobel Conference and Professor of Philosophy at Gustavus, interviews philosopher Jonathan Birch. His research focuses on examining the sentience of insects, as well as cephalopods and crustaceans, and delves deep into what these creatures feel and how they experience the world. Birch is the principal investigator of The Foundations of Animal Sentience, an interdisciplinary group that examines how sentience relates to behavior and how sentience and welfare are connected with respect to how animals can be treated ethically.

In this interview, Birch helps us explore what it means for insects to be sentient and the ramifications of that question in public policy and in personal ethics. Additionally, this discussion examines the relationship between humans and insects and how that relationship can be changed when we look at insects as conscious and feeling beings.

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