This upcoming special issue features a target 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 concludes with an author reply.
We extend our thanks to all contributors to this special issue (13:2), which is scheduled for publication in summer 2026.
Description
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 agricultural benefits obtained by harming them. The most obvious responses seem inadequate. Indian animal ethics, which has always taken the idea of insect sentience seriously, is a promising place to look for further options. Of particular relevance is the idea of ahimsa (nonviolence, noninjury), but ahimsa in its ancient form has metaphysical commitments that secular animal ethics should not accept. More promising still is the progressive ahimsaism developed by Gandhi in the 1920s, on which duties of non-maleficence can be overridden by duties of care, provided the duty of care is adopted, interpreted and exercised in accordance with the guiding ideal of ahimsa. Birch's target article provides an exposition and analysis of the view and relates it to the insect challenge.
All articles available to read on the JPE's forthcoming page
Contents
Target article
'Ethics for a large sentient world: Insects, ahimsa, and Gandhi’s progressive ahimsaism', Jonathan Birch (The Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience, London School of Economics and Political Science) | Assigned DOI doi.org/10.3998/jpe.10745
Commentaries
'In Defence of Robust Rights for All Sentient Creatures', Angie Pepper (University of Roehampton) | Assigned DOI: doi.org/10.3998/jpe.10746
'Ethics for a tragic world: Humanity, insects, and doing good', Gary David O’Brien (Lingnan University) | Assigned DOI doi.org/10.3998/jpe.10747
'The ‘insect challenge’ – a response to Birch', Samantha Hurn (University of Exeter) and Alexander Badman-King (University of Exeter) | Assigned DOI doi.org/10.3998/jpe.10748
Author reply
'How to Live Nonviolently in a Large Sentient World: Replies to Pepper, Hurn and Badman-King, and O’Brien', Jonathan Birch (The Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience, London School of Economics and Political Science) | Assigned DOI 10.3998/jpe.10749
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