Sentience
Sentience is the ability to experience feelings and sensations. It may not necessarily imply higher cognitive functions such as awareness, reasoning, or complex thought processes. Sentience is an important concept in ethics, as the ability to experience happiness or suffering often forms a basis for determining which entities deserve moral consideration, particularly in utilitarianism.
Some writers define sentience exclusively as the capacity for valenced (positive or negative) mental experiences, such as pain or pleasure. Others differentiate between the mere ability to perceive sensations, such as light or pain, and the ability to perceive emotions, such as fear or grief.
In Asian religions, the word "sentience" has been used to translate a variety of concepts. In science fiction, "sentience" is sometimes used interchangeably with "sapience", "self-awareness", or "consciousness".
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