Natures wonders: Plant 'intelligence' (Introduction)

by dhw, Friday, February 26, 2016, 13:01 (3191 days ago) @ David Turell

dhw: If plants are sentient, able to remember past experiences, able to solve problems and able to learn how to cope with new conditions, they are intelligent, and their behaviour is the consequence of their intelligent processing of information, which makes you into one of the “cerebrocentric critics” who insult them with your automatic assumptions. You are of course free to do so, but I do not see how you can possibly believe that these researchers are on your side.-DAVID: You forget I believe the plants, like single-celled organisms look intelligent but they are following intelligent instructions to respond to stimuli and the 'memory' responses are also automatic. Sentience has a two part definition: to receive stimuli and also to consciously react. The second part is always open to interpretation, and I have mine. I've re-read Dennett's point from the article and I still feel the same way in my interpretation, because of my existing viewpoint. I start from a different ground of reasoning than you do.-It is impossible for me to forget your views. I was merely pointing out that you had misinterpreted the whole article, including Dennett's point, when you claimed that both it and he supported you, e.g. “Note, per Dennett, the plants are not thinking”, which is not what he said at all. You are in fact one of those whom Dennett criticizes as being a “cerebrocentric critic”, and whose automatic assumptions the researchers regard as an insult which “runs contrary to the new evidence.” But I appreciate your supplying this evidence against your opinion, to which of course you are entitled!