Ethics for a large sentient world: Insects, ahimsa, and Gandhi’s progressive ahimsaism

Posted by Rachel Gaminiratne on 2026-06-02

Jonathan Birch ^[1] , The Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience, London School of Economics and Political Science

ORCID 0000-0001-7517-4759

Assigned DOI doi.org/10.3998/jpe.10745

Abstract

Positions that link rights to sentience face an insect challenge: insects are plausibly sentient, yet recognizing individual insects as rights-bearers would problematize public health, veterinary and …

Commentary: In Defence of Robust Rights for All Sentient Creatures

Posted by Rachel Gaminiratne on 2026-06-02

Angie Pepper, University of Roehampton

ORCID 0000-0002-2608-667X

Assigned DOI doi.org/10.3998/jpe.10746

Abstract

Jonathan Birch's 'Ethics for a Large Sentient World' presents a novel approach to the challenges associated with granting sentient insects direct moral concern. The Gandhian-inspired ethic that Birch develops takes insect sentience seriously while maintaining that insects have no …

Commentary: Ethics for a tragic world: Humanity, insects, and doing good

Posted by Rachel Gaminiratne on 2026-06-02

Gary David O’Brien ^[1]  , Lingnan University

ORCID 0000-0002-8528-5724

Assigned DOI doi.org/10.3998/jpe.10747

1. Introduction

Birch’s ambitious paper attempts to provide a solution to one of the most difficult problems in animal ethics – the insect challenge. If insects are sentient, and if sentience is sufficient for the possession of robust …

Commentary: The ‘insect challenge’ – a response to Birch

Posted by Rachel Gaminiratne on 2026-06-02

Samantha Hurn, University of Exeter | ORCID 0000-0003-4876-458X

Alexander Badman-King, University of Exeter | ORCID 0000-0003-1049-3446

Assigned DOI doi.org/10.3998/jpe.10748

Jonathan Birch’s important and thought-provoking paper raises the thorny question of how to navigate ‘the insect challenge’ when it comes to sentience, rights, and human responsibilities to other animals. Birch astutely …

Author reply: How to Live Nonviolently in a Large Sentient World: Replies to Pepper, Hurn and Badman-King, and O’Brien

Posted by Rachel Gaminiratne on 2026-06-02

Jonathan Birch, The Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience, London School of Economics and Political Science

ORCID 0000-0001-7517-4759

Assigned DOI doi.org/10.3998/jpe.10749

Abstract

The three commentaries on “Ethics for a large sentient world” raise several problems for a Gandhian approach to animal ethics. In my responses, I defend my position that …

Coming soon: Special Issue on Gandhi’s ahimsaism, insects, and animal sentience

Posted by Rachel Gaminiratne on 2026-05-11

This upcoming special issue will feature an article by Professor Jonathan Birch, with commmentaries by Dr Angie Pepper, Dr Gary O'Brien, Dr Samantha Hurn & Dr Alexander Badman-King (co-authored), and will conclude with an author reply to commentators.

This special issue, 13:2, is due to be published …

Manipulation: A Debate

Posted by Rachel Gaminiratne on 2026-03-31

Editorial

The purpose of this journal is to bring the best work in philosophy to bear on pressing issues of public, political or interdisciplinary interest and to disseminate it to a broad, global audience comprised of both academic and non-academic readers, with high impact. To this end, we have developed …

The Mistake Account of Manipulation

Posted by Rachel Gaminiratne on 2026-03-31

Robert Noggle, Central Michigan University (Philosophy, Anthropology & Religion)

ORCID 0000-0002-4682-3825

Assigned DOI doi.org/10.3998/jpe.9951

Abstract

This paper discusses the four main elements of a theory of manipulation which I call the Mistake Account, and which I defend in my 2025 book on manipulation. This theory claims that manipulation is influence …

How to Think about the Basic Moral Status of Manipulation

Posted by Rachel Gaminiratne on 2026-03-31

Shlomo Cohen, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

ORCID 0000-0002-9852-5221

Assigned DOI doi.org/10.3998/jpe.9952

Abstract

Drawing on the broader theoretical framework that I developed in The Concept and Ethics of Manipulation, this paper examines the question of the basic moral status of manipulation, challenging the prevailing assumption that manipulation is inherently …

Author commentary: Reflections on Cohen’s Account of Manipulation

Posted by Rachel Gaminiratne on 2026-03-31

Robert Noggle, Central Michigan University, Philosophy (Anthropology & Religion)

ORCID 0000-0002-4682-3825

Assigned DOI doi.org/10.3998/jpe.9953

Shlomo Cohen’s book is outstanding, and I have learned much from it. His account of manipulation is quite different from mine, but that doesn’t prevent me from agreeing with much of what he says. I’ll begin …

Author commentary: On Noggle's "Mistake Account"

Posted by Rachel Gaminiratne on 2026-03-30

Shlomo Cohen, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

ORCID 0000-0002-9852-5221

Assigned DOI doi.org/10.3998/jpe.9954

What is manipulation and what is its moral status? Robert Noggle’s Manipulation: Its Nature, Mechanisms, and Moral Status (2025) and my The Concept and Ethics of Manipulation (2025) both expound theories that answer these large questions. From a …