SentienceFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaNot to be confused withSapience."Sentient" redirects here. For other uses, seeSentient (disambiguation).Sentienceis the ability tofeel,perceive, orexperience subjectively.[1]Eighteenth-century philosophers used the concept to distinguish the ability to think (reason) from the ability to feel (sentience). In modern Western philosophy, sentience is the ability to experiencesensations(known inphilosophy of mindas "qualia"). In Eastern philosophy, sentience is a metaphysical quality of all things that requires respect and care. The concept is central to the philosophy ofanimal rights, because sentience is necessary for the ability tosuffer, and thus is held toconfercertain rights.Contents[hide] 1Philosophy and sentience 2Ideasthesia 3Indian religions 4Animal welfare, rights, and sentience 5Artificial intelligence 6Science fiction 7Sentience quotient 8See also 9References 10Further readingPhilosophy and sentience[edit]In the philosophy ofconsciousness,sentiencecan refer to the ability of any entity to have subjective perceptual experiences, or as some philosophers refer to them, "qualia".[2]This is distinct from other aspects of themindandconsciousness, such ascreativity,intelligence,sapience,self-awareness, andintentionality(the ability to have thoughts "about" something). Sentience is a minimalistic way of definingconsciousness, which is otherwise commonly used to collectively describe sentience plus other characteristics of the mind.Some philosophers, notablyColin McGinn, believe that sentience will never be understood, a position known as "new mysterianism". They do not deny that most other aspects ofconsciousnessare subject to scientific investigation but they argue thatsubjective experienceswill never be explained; i.e., sentience is theonlyaspect of consciousness that can't be explained. Other philosophers (such asDaniel Dennett, who also denies animals to have a consciousness) disagree, arguing that all aspects of consciousness will eventually be explained by science.[3]Ideasthesia[edit]