TAKE a look at that plant sitting on the windowsill or tree in the local park. What might it be feeling? Could it be thinking? Experiments are probing the idea of plant cognition, even going so far as to suggest they possess some form of consciousness.
As wild as it sounds, it isn’t a new idea. The field of “plant neurobiology” began in 2006, aimed at understanding how plants process information from their environment.
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It is now clear that plants are capable of complex communication and can intricately sense their surroundings, ideas that were originally dismissed. But proponents of plant consciousness take things further and draw parallels between the electrical signalling that can be found from root to stem with that present in the nervous system of animals. They claim to show that plants are capable of intentionally choosing to perform certain behaviours, of learning and perhaps even having personalities, as we report in our feature. If plants are experiencing a sentient inner world, they argue, it becomes imperative that we find ways to test and understand it.
Extending the concept of cognition to plants would mean a seismic shift in our view of the uniqueness of humanity, not to mention how we treat our botanical friends, so the bar of acceptance is high. Researchers rising to the challenge are hoping to probe plants with tools usually reserved for the human brain.
The research can appear persuasive, but it is in its infancy and suffers from replication failure. Critics say the ; that the behaviours can be explained through innate reflexes.
Whether we decide that plants have cognition may come down to our ability to describe consciousness itself – something we are far from doing. But rather than dismiss the idea, we should welcome the chance to devise new ways to test our understanding of consciousness. It might just improve our grasp of the human mind. At the very least, our trees and houseplants should benefit from the extra attention – consciously or not.
