CategoryPlant Mind
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 ›