This page is an archive of a community-wide discussion. This page is no longer live. Further comments or questions on this topic should be made in a new Senate Hall page rather than here so that this page is preserved as a historic record. Advanced Jedi Training Droid 6 (Talk to my master) 00:34, June 18, 2013 (UTC)
I've been wondering lately how to determine if a species is non-sentient as opposed to semi-sentient or sentient. If the species appears it is pretty clear to tell if the species is sentient, but it is harder if the species is only mentioned. Also, can you determine if a species is semi-sentient or non-sentient without the source specifically stating so? I just wanted to see what everyone else thought because it seems to be haphazardly chosen for good articles and it is even worse for comprehensive articles. I just wanted to get some opinions on how this should be handled as many articles make no reference to setience whatsoever. (not even having a Category:Species of undefined sentience)--Exiled Jedi 
(Greetings) 16:41, March 23, 2013 (UTC)
- Appearances can be misleading. In general, I'm opposed to guesswork, unless it's obviously sentient (humanoid in form). Stake black msg 16:46, March 23, 2013 (UTC)
- We definitely need to avoid guesswork, but do you think there is a point where a species can definitely be defined as non-sentient without having the source say "creatute A was non-sentient"? If we eliminate all assumptions, we can always claim that a species might be sentient and is faking non-sentience unless the source says that the species was non-sentient or semi-sentient.--Exiled Jedi
(Greetings) 20:35, March 23, 2013 (UTC)
- Barring the source explicitly saying "this species was sentient" in some way (calling it "intelligent" or "sapient" sometimes appear as well), I think it's fair to assume the species is sentient if it is known to use language and tools (including clothing). In other words, no source explicitly says that this guy's species is sentient, but the character we know of that species talks, wears clothes, and holds a job in galactic society, so it would take willful ignorance on our part to deny sentience. What might actually be useful would be for someone to revisit the Sentience article using sources such as The Essential Guide to Aliens that discuss what sentience means in Star Wars; using that, we could have some better benchmarks for borderline cases. As for other species where it's unclear, err on the side of caution and put them in Category:Species of undefined sentience if necessary, or ask for feedback from other users familiar with the topic. ~Savage
19:19, March 26, 2013 (UTC)
- Thanks for the input. I have one more question: If a species appears to only be an unintelligent beast, is that enough for it to be identified as non-sentient or could it still be semi-sentient?--Exiled Jedi
(Greetings) 21:52, March 26, 2013 (UTC)
- In that case, I'd probably just call it an animal or species but make no mention of its level of sentience. ~Savage 02:31, March 27, 2013 (UTC)
- In that case, I'd probably just call it an animal or species but make no mention of its level of sentience. ~Savage
- Thanks for the input. I have one more question: If a species appears to only be an unintelligent beast, is that enough for it to be identified as non-sentient or could it still be semi-sentient?--Exiled Jedi
- Barring the source explicitly saying "this species was sentient" in some way (calling it "intelligent" or "sapient" sometimes appear as well), I think it's fair to assume the species is sentient if it is known to use language and tools (including clothing). In other words, no source explicitly says that this guy's species is sentient, but the character we know of that species talks, wears clothes, and holds a job in galactic society, so it would take willful ignorance on our part to deny sentience. What might actually be useful would be for someone to revisit the Sentience article using sources such as The Essential Guide to Aliens that discuss what sentience means in Star Wars; using that, we could have some better benchmarks for borderline cases. As for other species where it's unclear, err on the side of caution and put them in Category:Species of undefined sentience if necessary, or ask for feedback from other users familiar with the topic. ~Savage
- We definitely need to avoid guesswork, but do you think there is a point where a species can definitely be defined as non-sentient without having the source say "creatute A was non-sentient"? If we eliminate all assumptions, we can always claim that a species might be sentient and is faking non-sentience unless the source says that the species was non-sentient or semi-sentient.--Exiled Jedi