I'm a Professor of Philosophy and Principal Investigator (PI) on the Foundations of Animal Sentience project. I mainly work on (i) animal sentience, cognition and welfare and (ii) the evolution of altruism and social behaviour.
Dr Jonathan Birch is a Professor of Philosophy at the LSE and Principal Investigator (PI) on the Foundations of Animal Sentience project. He mainly works on animal sentience, cognition and welfare and the evolution of altruism and social behaviour.
He joined the LSE in 2014. Before moving to London, he was a Junior Research Fellow at Christ’s College, Cambridge. He completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge in 2013, with a dissertation entitled Kin Selection: A Philosophical Analysis.
In 2014, he was one of four UK philosophers honoured with a Philip Leverhulme Prize, which recognize “the achievement of outstanding researchers whose work has already attracted international recognition and whose future career is exceptionally promising”.
He has published widely on various topics in major philosophical and scientific journals, including Nature Medicine, Current Biology, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, The American Naturalist, Biological Reviews, Nous, Philosophical Studies, Philosophical Quarterly, Philosophy of Science, and The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. His first book, The Philosophy of Social Evolution, was published by Oxford University Press in 2017.
In 2021, he led a "Review of the Evidence of Sentience in Cephalopod Molluscs and Decapod Crustaceans" that led to invertebrate animals including octopuses, crabs and lobsters being included in the UK government's Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022. His second book, The Edge of Sentience, Risk and Precaution in Humans, Other Animals, and AI was published by Oxford University Press in 2024.
The Edge of Sentience: Risk and Precaution in Humans, Other Animals, and AI, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2024.
"Edge of Sentience is a masterclass in public-facing philosophy. At each step, Birch is lucid and perfectly calibrated in the strength of his assertions. His analysis is thoughtful and circumspect, and always poised for revision. He elevates his readers. His sourcing is generous and wide-ranging. The book also takes pains to set itself up as a manual for policy, with each chapter providing a summary. Birch works hard and, in my opinion, succeeds in writing a highly topical book of deep philosophy. Any thinking person can profit from it, provided that they have a stomach for uncertainty." - Jonathan Kimmelman, Nature
The Philosophy of Social Evolution, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017.
"This is philosophy at its best: a clear, informed, and ambitious synthesis of the conceptual, the formal, and the empirical. ... It is lucid, well written, sensible, and intellectually valuable. ... It is an essential text for philosophy of biology and, more generally, anyone working on the evolution of cooperation." - Carl Brusse and Kim Sterelny, The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science
"The Philosophy of Social Evolution is a superb exploration of philosophical implications of Hamilton's work. ... Birch shows why philosophy will continue to be an integral part of the future of the study of social evolution." - J. Arvid Agren, Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences
"Birch is extremely clear and careful in the development of his ideas and this makes the breadth and depth of this work even more impressive. The Philosophy of Social Evolution will, I suspect, become required reading in several different fields and, as I have suggested, there are insights here that extend beyond the philosophy of biology and evolutionary theory." - John Thrasher, Metascience
You can find my articles on PhilPapers and Google Scholar. Are you struggling to get access to any of my publications? If so, send me an email! Please follow me on X, formerly Twitter (@birchlse), for updates.
If you're looking for an entry point to my work on animal sentience, I recommend "Animal sentience", Philosophy Compass. If you're looking for an entry point to my work on social evolution, I recommend "The inclusive fitness controversy: finding a way forward", Royal Society Open Science.
