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Biologist Daniel Chamovitz unveils the surprising world of plants that see, feel, smell—and remember.
Sure plants can sense, but they certainly cannot think and are not conscious, at least not remotely in the way an animal is. Thinking and consciousness evolved as a mechanism to coordinate movement, and sessile creatures have no use for them. Look at animals without nervous systems. They are mostly sea creatures who lie in wait and filter their food through the passing currents (e.g. sponges, corals and anemones). Sensory capabilities and consciousness do not have to intersect. Good, fascinating article; stupid title.
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thenewgreen · 4526 days ago · link ·
There are frutarians that only eat fallen fruits and vegetables. Thereby never bringing harm to living things. They're probably really, really hungry all the time.
It seems like a really bizarre question to posit, but it's actually very interesting. A while ago I read a great book, - a collection of essays on consciousness called 'The Mind's I'.
http://www.amazon.com/Minds-Fantasies-Reflections-Self-Soul/... There were definitely essays musing on the conscious of lower order animals, as well as computer simulations and AI. I don't remember if any of them touched on plants though. Anyway, it's one of those questions that your bias tells you 'no', but when you try to quantify exactly why that is, you realize that it's far more complicated and less obvious. Funny what happens when you are forced to define 'consciousness' precisely...