Natures wonders: Plant awareness (Introduction)

by dhw, Wednesday, January 18, 2017, 13:09 (2864 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: Plants can respond to sounds, can sense chemicals in the atmosphere, respond to light other than the process of photosynthesis:

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20170109-plants-can-see-hear-and-smell-and-respond

QUOTES: "Plants perceive the world without eyes, ears or brains. Understanding how can teach us a lot about them, and potentially a lot about us as well".

"And while many consider terms like "plant intelligence" and "plant neurobiology" to be metaphorical, they have still been met with a lot of criticism, not least from Chamovitz. "Do I think plants are smart? I think plants are complex," he says. Complexity, he says, should not be confused with intelligence. (David's bold)

DAVID’s comment: Plants need these senses. With danger they cannot run and hide. Their reactions are automatic, not intelligent, as stated in the bolded statement above. Since they split off from the original animals, it is not surprising they use the same original proteins. All evolution is based on the same starting proteins.

As usual, it comes down to definitions. Nobody is arguing that plants philosophize. But if they are sentient and communicate and take decisions, instead of saying plants are not intelligent, one could say plants display a rudimentary form of intelligence.