Asher Soryl
Asher Soryl is a PhD candidate from the University of Otago Bioethics Centre in New Zealand, working under the supervision of Mike King, Andrew Moore, and Phillip Seddon. Asher was first introduced to philosophy at the age of 14 while undertaking a STAR program at the University of Canterbury. In 2015 he began studying the subject full-time for his Bachelor’s degree, and in his second year was awarded a scholarship to study abroad at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. After graduating in 2017 he moved to the Netherlands to pursue a Master’s degree in Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam, and in 2018 he began working as a researcher and outreach coordinator for the international non-profit organisation ‘Animal Ethics’.
Asher's research interests are mostly centred around philosophical issues related to animal welfare - in particular, the welfare of wild animals - and he has been actively involved in animal advocacy for his entire life. He is very interested in understanding which animals are sentient and why, in addition to other research topics such as the philosophy of personal identity and perception (which he is always keen for a chat about). Outside of his academic work, Asher is very interested in world cinema, all kinds of music (especially jazz), transhumanism, and effective altruism. His favourite food is hummus, and he loves to wear Hawaiian shirts on cold days. Asher would not plug himself into the experience machine, but prudentially recommends that others should.
