Matt Silliman has taught philosophy at MCLA for twenty years. His recently published book, Sentience and Sensibility, a conversation about moral philosophy was recently released by Parmenides Publishing. As a member of the Philosophy faculty, he is privileged to work with some of the strongest and most serious students on campus, in such courses as Philosophical Dialogue, Moral Relativism, and World Religions.
From the Publisher: Sentience And Sensibility is a dialogue that engages a number of issues in moral theory in a rigorous and original manner, while remaining accessible to all. It accomplishes this by means of the time-honored (if presently dormant) medium of philosophical dialogue, in which its characters actively challenge each other to clarify their ideas and defend their reasoning. In this manner the conversation develops and weighs some proposed solutions, in largely non-technical language, to a number of current and traditional moral problems (including the nature and origin of moral value, the moral status of animals, problems of partiality, and other vexed topics).
Everyday ethical matters and moral intuitions are pressing, whereas moral philosophy and theory can seem remote and intimidating. Sentience And Sensibility proposes that these two should meet. The book's characters gently challenge each other to clarify their thinking and reasoning process, and in this rigorous yet personable manner explore traditional and fresh takes on morality. The conversation aims not only to discover thoughtful answers to such questions, but to do so while being respectful of both philosophical theory and ordinary moral intuitions.
Sideheads are placed throughout the margins of the book to help locate passages of interest, while the glossary or "Cast of Concepts & Characters" defines technical terms and offers brief overviews of the philosophers and theories that come up during the conversation. For the specialist or interested student the Appendix includes a formal essay, co-authored with David K. Johnson, clarifying and arguing for the theory of "muliticriterial value incrementalism" developed in the dialogue.
Endorsements for Sentience and Sensibility
“Silliman's resuscitation of the art of the philosophical dialogue breathes substance into conversation and drama into ideas. This wonderfully urbane and well-written dialogue about the moral life captures the reader's attention early and never lets it go.”
John Lachs
Philosophy, Vanderbilt University
“Silliman's Sentience and Sensibilility achieves a powerful blend: It is at once engaging, learned, and provocative. One is readily swept up in the debate, and vigilance for details and nuances is well rewarded. The value incrementalism on offer is naturalistic in the best sense. It takes seriously work in the empirical sciences without trying simplistically to reduce moral valuing. And the crucial role played in the view by human social relations is a welcome antidote to overly individualistic traditional theorizing. One last and not inconsiderable virtue should be added to the list of those possessed by this work. In the view of this reader, at least, the fundamental approach and the bulk of the details are just plain right. In addition to being a deft example of a philosophical dialogue, there is also some damned fine philosophy going on here.”
Joe Cruz
Philosophy and Cognitive Science, Williams College
“[Sentience and Sensibility] is very well written. I have probably never read a better use of dialogue form ... you make Harriet a real interlocuter. This format is horrifically difficult to use (I certainly couldn't do it). The book deserves a wide audience.”
David Weissman
Philosophy, City College of New York
“Unless used as a pedagogical instrument, philosophical dialogue is a rare form of philosophical presentation. It takes a sustained focus that captures all the nuances of multi-sided arguments as well as attitudes of the two parties composing philosophical positions. Matt Silliman’s Sentience and Sensibility reads as an invitingly casual dialogue, without sacrificing the philosophical rigor of thorny perennial issues (intrinsic and instrumental value; fact/value dichotomy; personal identity; environmental ethics; animal rights, abortion, etc.) His characters address these questions in such a way as to explicate a more plausible theory that would accommodate what would otherwise seem inconsistent viewpoints. The logic of traditional theory makes an assumption of binary value that the conversation studiously rejects.
“The theory of “value incrementalism” serves as a focal point through which to assess the weaknesses of traditional ethical theories in responding to dichotomies. An incremental value perspective, though time-consuming to apply, can embrace many levels of value, and thus better and more holistically comprehend moral decision-making. The richness of this approach is showcased in the creative dialogue between a sort of latter-day Kant and John Stuart Mill (Harriet Taylor) that moves quickly and with wise humor, giving glimpses of the author’s voice in the characters and revealing philosophy as a living subject.”
John Abbarno
Philosophy, D’Youville College
“[Sentience and Sensibility] is a lively philosophical dialogue on the moral status of living things, human and otherwise. The protagonist defends a multi-level account on which we have direct moral obligations to all and only sentient beings, but stronger obligations to those who are self-conscious to some degree than to those that are barely sentient. We also have stronger duties to beings (such as ourselves) who are reflectively self-conscious than to most nonhuman animals; however, for practical as well as ethical reasons, infants and mentally disabled persons have essentially the same full moral status as mentally competent human adults. The view is well defended, and yields plausible conclusions about such questions as whether we ought to be vegetarians, and whether abortion is always or sometimes morally wrong. The dialogue format adds dramatic interest and guides the reader through the complexities of the subject. It enables the objections and responses to be forcefully expressed and answered, but within a context of mutual respect. These features make it useful for either graduate or undergraduate ethics courses, as well as a general readership. It will be of interest to anyone who has been troubled by the ambiguous moral status of nonhuman animals, human embryos and fetuses, and other puzzling cases.”
Mary Anne Warren
Philosophy, San Francisco State University
Author, Moral Status (Oxford University Press, 2000)
Join in the conversation with Dr. Silliman at the MCLA blog.