Cameron ([email protected]) is the Operations Lead for Animal Advocacy Africa (also @Animal_Africa). Cameron ran his own eCommerce business for several years before pivoting to charity entrepreneurship to have a more extensive & substantial positive impact on the world. Cameron has been involved in the Effective Altruism community for over ten years & went through Charity Entrepreneurship’s 2020 incubation program.

In 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 video of our conversation is here on YouTube.

We discuss:

00:00 Welcome

01:15 Cameron's Intro

- Studying, business, Effective Altruism, earning to give, charity entrepreneurship, starting AAA

03:01 What's Real?

- Growing up with a logical/reasoned/scientific mindset

- Attending church & religious school

- Being drawn to scepticism, rationalism, atheism, Effective Altruism

- Softening to consider Buddhism/spiritualist elements

- Meditation "It felt like there's something more going on here". Interconnectedness, a peace with determinism (no free will)

- There are some moral truths in religious thinking. Religion as metaphor

- Open mindedness & humility

15:30 What (& Who) Matters?

- An early sense of justice "I couldn't sit back & do nothing"

- Suffering/contentment as a core moral axiom

- The asymmetry betwee suffering & flourishing

- We can learn & grow & become happier from suffering

- Over-simplifying suffering/flourishing

- "Notes From the Underground" by Dostoevsky & Alan Watts

- Understanding/truth/knowledge as a meta-goal for humanity?

- "You can kind of fit everything in" to sentience

- Considering moral scope as a teenager. Other humans. Other sentients. Veganism.

- Watching challenging YouTube ethical debate videos (Joey Carbstrong)... "I can't answer this... It shook me."

- A "who can be vegetarian for the longest" bet with a friend. Going vegan 4 weeks later

- The social/family aspect was the most difficult partly because "It challenges other people's beliefs"

- "I've now channelled my vegan angst into this charity"

- "Changing your mind is possible."

- Bio/ecocentrism?

- Digital sentience?

- Animal farming as an obvious, tractable, human wrong

- Wild animal suffering vs. an idealistic reverence for "nature"

- Links between naturalistic epistemology & ethics

38:08 How Can we Make a Better World?

- Effective Altruism: "Doing the most good you can in an evidence based & effective way"

...and much more. Full show notes at Sentientism.info and on YouTube.

Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at Sentientism.info. Join our "I'm a Sentientist" wall via this simple form.

Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. The biggest so far is here on FaceBook. Come join us there!

Thanks Graham.