Why we should give moral consideration to sentient beings, rather than living beings There are a number of environmentalist positions that oppose granting equal respect to all sentient beings. The reasoning used to justify these views may vary widely because environmentalist perspectives disagree about which components of the natural world should be most morally considerable and thus worthy of respect. Some views claim that ecosystems, rather than sentient beings, should be respected; others claim that species, rather than individuals, should be considered. Biocentrism, one of the most popular views among environmental ethicists, claims that we should respect all forms of life. Those who defend this view claim that being alive is the sole condition that must be met in order to be respected. If an entity is alive, then, irrespective of any other feature it may have, it has value in itself. This means respect not only for sentient beings, but for all living entities.1 Biocentrism may seem appealing at first, but the following arguments will demonstrate why it is highly questionable. Why we should defend sentient beings As the section on the argument from relevance explains, there are strong reasons to support the view that what matters morally is whether our actions can affect sentient beings.