37: “No judgement… just how do we solve this?” – Humane Educator Zoe Weil – Sentientist Conversations

We discuss the biggest questions: "what's real?", "who matters?" and "how to make a better world?" with scientists, celebrities, activists, writers and philosophers. The Sentientism worldview is "evidence, reason and compassion for all sentient beings." It's a simple, yet radical, philosophy that's grounded in reality (naturalistic epistemology) and has compassion for all sentient beings (mostly human and non-human animals). Naturalism & sentiocentrism combined.

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Zoe (https://twitter.com/ZoeWeil) is the co-founder & president of the Institute for Humane Education (https://humaneeducation.org/). She is considered a pioneer in the comprehensive humane education movement. She has authored seven books both for adults & children, including Most Good, Least Harm: A Simple Principle for a Better World & Meaningful Life. Zoe writes the Becoming a Solutionary blog at Psychology today. She has made numerous TV & radio appearances and has given six TED talks, including “Extending our Circle of Compassion.”  In these Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?”  Sentientism is “evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.”

The audio is also here on YouTube – with full show notes.

We discuss:

– Humane Education: Human rights, animal protection, environmental sustainability

– Growing up non-religious in New York but with Jewish heritage

– Having the label “Jew” but not knowing what it meant

– Taking courses on Orthodox Judaism at NYU. Finding the questioning & debate fascinating, but the “proofs of god didn’t seem like proofs”

– Taking a sense that “what you do mattered more than what you believe”

– Semester at Sea, staying on an ashram, visiting Israel & Japan. Exploring religion & meaning making

– Choosing to study religion rather than a scientific veterinary track

– Doing a Masters in Theological studies at Harvard Divinity School, focusing on what religions taught about animals & environment

– “I still don’t believe in god – the way god is described in most religions”

– “The mystery of the universe is awe-inspiring”. Calling it “god” feels like it’s narrowing something huge into something small

– Is religion restricting wonder rather than revelling in it?

– Does religion constrain the concept of god as the “universe” into something that looks remarkably like a human male?

– Awe and wonder and connection within a naturalistic worldview

– Unitarian universalism & the power of numinous, communal experience

– And much more… 

Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at https://sentientism.info/. Join our “wall” https://sentientism.info/wall/
using this form: https://sentientism.info/im-a-sentientist.

Everyone interested, Sentientist or not, is welcome to join our groups. Our main one is on FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/groups/sentientism.

Thanks Graham for the post-prod: https://twitter.com/cgbessellieu