CategoryPlant Mind
Can Plants See? A Shape-Shifting Plant Raises the Question
If it can’t see, how does it copy the leaves of any one of a number of plants growing nearby?
Philosopher Hollers Whoa! Are Plants Really Conscious?
Pigliucci worries about the claim. But if human consciousness 1) exists and 2) is fully natural, some scientists would of course argue that plants share it
Blessed are the Peacemakers, for They Shall Be Called Bioethicists
War is too serious and consequential an issue for the raging dilettantism that the Hastings Center displays
“Plant Philosophy” Denigrates Human Uniqueness
Much contemporary advocacy is obsessed with deconstructing human exceptionalism
Evolutionary Biologist Defines Goldenrod Plant as “Intelligent”
The media release for the journal paper, sponsored by Cornell University, illustrates the growing comfort of science with panpsychist (everything is conscious) ideas
If We Doubt That Plants Have Minds, Are We “Soul-Blind”?
The concept of “plant mind” as a trend in science — a trend consistent with growing panpsychism— has begun to worry some researchers
Again with the ‘Plants Are Intelligent’ Nonsense
It seems to me that the ultimate point of these “plants are persons too”–type stories is to undermine human exceptionalism
Yes, Plants Do Communicate — But Is It a One-Way Street?
Are we straining the meaning of the term “communication” by overinterpreting what we observe?
Are Plants Cognitive, Intelligent Organisms? A Controversy Brews
Some plant biologists want to see them that way; others continue to insist on a Darwinian view
A Science Writer Makes the Case for Plants as Conscious Beings
Annaka Harris, neuroscience and physics writer, starts by casting doubt on human consciousnessAnnaka Harris, a science writer focusing on neuroscience and physics and the author of Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind (2019), challenges us to reflect on two points: 1) In a system that we know has conscious experiences — the human brain — what evidence of consciousness can we detect from the outside? 2) Is consciousness essential to our behavior? The editor notes, introducing an excerpt from the book, “But how sure can we be that plants aren’t conscious? And what if what we take to be behavior indicating consciousness can be replicated with no conscious agent involved? Annaka Harris invites us to consider the real possibility that our intuitions about consciousness might be mere Read More ›