Foundations of Animal Sentience

Project description

How emotional are your pets?

Can your dog think and feel? Does your cat plan ahead? Does a bear have consciousness? Do elephants show empathy? These are the questions many researchers are asking. The EU-funded ASENT project will search for answers. The project will construct a methodology for the science of animal sentience – an animal’s subjective experience of the world and of its body. Specifically, ASENT will develop a conceptual framework for understanding how sentience varies across the animal kingdom. It will also design a scheme of proposed experimental tests for constructing a sentience profile according to species type. The project will also assess the dimensions of sentience (in terms of relevance to animal welfare and the ethical status of animals).

Field of science

• /natural sciences/biological sciences/evolutionary biology
• /natural sciences/biological sciences/neurobiology

Programme(s)

• H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)

Topic(s)

• ERC-2019-STG - ERC Starting Grant

Call for proposal

ERC-2019-STG
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

ERC-STG - Starting Grant

Host institution

LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE

Address

Houghton Street 1
WC2A 2AE London
United Kingdom

Activity type

Higher or Secondary Education Establishments

EU contribution

€ 1 469 188

Beneficiaries (3)

LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE

United Kingdom

EU contribution

€ 1 469 188

Address

Houghton Street 1
WC2A 2AE London

Activity type

Higher or Secondary Education Establishments

ROYAL HOLLOWAY AND BEDFORD NEW COLLEGE

United Kingdom

EU contribution

€ 16 112,25

Address

Egham Hill University Of London
TW20 0EX Egham

Activity type

Higher or Secondary Education Establishments

QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

United Kingdom

EU contribution

€ 14 563,75

Address

327 Mile End Road
E1 4NS London

Activity type

Higher or Secondary Education Establishments