Sentience

Pronunciation: /ˈsɛnˈtjɛnˈˌsii/

Sentience (noun)

  1. The ability of a being to have feelings and experiences, such as pain, pleasure, or awareness of what is happening.
  2. Having a conscious inner life, where events are experienced rather than only processed like a machine.

Examples

  • The test checks sentience, the ability to feel pain and pleasure.
  • Some animals show sentience, the ability to feel emotions.