Hello everyone! Today I’m excited to announce that this year I will be running for council in the Gulgadya/Leichhardt ward of Inner West Council.
One of the key factors I want to bring to the Inner West Council is to make sure that the non-human animals who we share this council with, both domestic and wild, are given the appropriate consideration when decisions are made in council. The companion and wild animals who we live with deserve a good life just as much as we do.
I also believe that my scientific background would be a good addition to council decision making process. We need to make sure that decisions which affect those who live in our council are made using evidence and reason to come up with the best solutions possible.
Please join me in striving to ensure the Inner West Council is the best possible council it can be for its residents, human and non-human alike.
If you have ideas or concerns, I want to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out at any time.
Recently I had a great chat with Jamie Woodhouse on the Sentientism podcast where we talked about a lot of different topics (listed below). This interview was unique for me as Jamie asked a lot of questions I had never thought about the answer to before, in particular relating to my transition from Catholic to atheist. I hope you’ll enjoy the discussion.
We discuss (from the show notes):
Michael’s PhD (pending) in space mining, terraforming, colonisation and asteroid deflection
Effective Altruism. Earning to give to do good vs. doing good directly
Peter Singer’s TED talk
Leaving industry for a full time PhD and becoming an Animal Justice Party politician
Michael’s Morality is Hard podcast, blog and Vegan Space Scientist YouTube
Growing up Catholic and attending a very religious school
Taking the Christian god, hell and heaven for granted. Being told every day it was true
Struggling with the fear of death without an afterlife. The comforting fiction of heaven
The painful realisation at 19 yrs that “not any of it was true” and becoming an atheist
The centrality of our own experience and the difficulty of conceiving of not existing
Searching for meaning after religion. Exploring and identifying with utilitarianism and consequentialism
“The only things sentient minds can value are suffering and wellbeing”. Everything else we think we value is a means to an end or we’re tricking ourselves
Our common evolutionary history with other sentient beings
Panpsychism and whether atoms are sentient/conscious
If electrons are “conscious” it must be very boring and they’re still not sentient
Caring for companion animals but eating other animals as a child
Going vegetarian for environmental reasons, becoming more open to ethical veganism, then switching
Insect, digital mind and alien sentience
“Sentientism just captures everything and its future proof”
CosmicSkeptic grudgingly identifying as Sentientist: “The term has absolutely no wit about it”
Is Sentientism the only moral discrimination?
It’s a solid bet to focus on spreading good values, naturalism and expanding our moral circle, when we’re in a world of moral uncertainty and epistemological complexity
Are all human-caused problems due to poorly founded beliefs and/or moral consideration exclusions?
Veganism is becoming more mainstream, but more farmed animals and fish are suffering & dying
I made a video about why bouldering has become such a big part of my life.
Note to any fellow gamers – consider trying bouldering at least once! I found many similar aspects to video games and it’s the most I’ve ever enjoyed any sport or fitness activity.
I’m excited to bring you the first episode of the Morality is Hard podcast in several years with the Honorable Emma Hurst, MLC.
The Honorable Emma Hurst, MLC, was elected to the NSW Legislative Council in 2019, the second member of the Animal Justice Party to be elected to NSW government. She is a registered psychologist and has worked for several animal protection organisations. Since being elected, she has been working on legislation to help animals in NSW. In our chat, we got in to some interesting questions and tricky issues, so I really hope you’ll enjoy the interview.
COI: I am also a member of the Animal Justice Party.
You can find this episode on Youtube, Soundcloud or on your favourite podcast app within 24 hours.
