Exploring Animal Sentience Research: Philosophical and Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Study of Affective States

The release of The New York Declaration on Animal Consciousness marks a pivotal moment in and outside of the scientific world, emphasising the moral imperative of acknowledging the potential for conscious experience in a wider range of animals, including invertebrates. The declaration builds on recent advancements in animal sentience research, an emerging field that transcends disciplinary boundaries and challenges traditional views of the way the animal mind works. 

Yet, the journey is far from over and many questions remain unanswered -  in particular, the study of affective states in non-human animals raises a number of foundational questions: What (uncertain) conceptual assumptions do we have to make when studying affective states of animals? To what extent are we limited by the experimental setups available to us? What are fundamental challenges of data interpretation and synthesis in this context?  What are ethical implications of the current state of research?

This workshop aims to provide scholars and (interdisciplinary) researchers from philosophy, animal welfare science, veterinary science, neuroscience and more with the opportunity to jointly discuss and reflect on these and related questions.

Topics include:

• Psychological Concepts and Their Role in Understanding Animal Emotions
• Indicators of (Positive) Welfare in Animals
• Ethical, Conceptual & Methodological Challenges in Animal Sentience Research

Speakers:

-               Leonard Dung (Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg) 

-               Heather Browning (University of Southampton – online) 

-               Ana Maria Valentim (i3S, University of Porto) 

-               Elizabeth Waldberg (University of York – online) 

-               Laura Webb (Wageningen University & Research) 

-               Saskia Arndt (Utrecht University) 

-               Felicity Huntingford (University of Glasgow) 

-               Markus Wild (Universität Basel) 

-               Elodie Mandel-Briefer (University of Copenhagen) 

The event is free of charge but the number of available seats is limited, so please fill in the form if you would like to attend (see registration link).