"Sentience, we may say, makes sense for life, as an essential underpinning to the business of living," Calvo explained. As the list continues to grow, it is reasonable to at least wonder if plants as well as neurologically-wired organisms will be found to have self-awareness. To the extent that a coherent definition can be deduced based on what scientists know for sure about biology, however, Calvo speculated that "consciousness relates to the presence of 'feelings, subjective states, a primitive awareness of events, including awareness of internal states.'" Within that context, Calvo pointed out that scientists have already demonstrated that a number of non-human animals possess sentience, from cephalopods ( like octopuses) to insects ( like ants). "There is no one single, agreed-upon definition of what 'consciousness' is," Calvo told Salon by email. Paco Calvo has an upcoming book, co-authored with Natalie Lawrence, called " Planta Sapiens: Unmasking Plant Intelligence." Calvo works at the MINT Lab (Minimal Intelligence Lab) at the University of Murcia in Spain, and provided Salon with his own definition of consciousness. Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter The Vulgar Scientist.ĭr. "There are numerous definitions but the most simple and relevant is this: Consciousness is a feature of living systems allowing them awareness of their external and internal conditions," Baluska wrote to Salon when asked to define consciousness in the sense used to understand the inner lives of plants. Stefano Mancuso have argued that there are structures in all cells that endow each organism with a certain amount of consciousness.ĭid humans domesticate plants, or did they domesticate us? Baluska and other scholars like psychologist Dr. It points out that individual cells are able to interact with their surroundings in a manner that clearly displays a sense of agency. According to CBC Theory, every cell that exists possesses the innate qualities necessary to possess a level of self-awareness. Baluska has published articles in scholarly journals from BioEssays to Philosophical Transactions B on the subject of plant consciousness. Frantisek Baluska, a scientist at the University of Bonn's Department of Plant Cell Biology, in an email interview with Salon. "In our Cellular Basis of Consciousness (CBC) Theory, consciousness evolved with the very first cells and all cellular life is endowed with consciousness which is essential for their agency, survival and evolution," explained Dr. This posits that all life, from the smallest single-celled organism and on upwards to the largest animals on Earth, possesses something akin to consciousness. One such theory of how this might work is known as the "Cellular Basis of Consciousness" theory. Welcome to the world of Plant Consciousness."There are numerous definitions but the most simple and relevant is this: Consciousness is a feature of living systems allowing them awareness of their external and internal conditions." Through a combination of herbalism, shamanism, geomancy (working with earth energies) and the magical and wisdom traditions of our islands Emma has opened to the multidimensional world of nature and rediscovered through direct experience what the indigenous peoples around the world know, that we are part of nature, not separate from it and that there is a way of living that is more alive, more authentic and more in alignment with the Earth. This philosophy has been the journey of Emma Farrell. From here we start to remember why we are here on Earth, we start to understand the realm of spirit on a deeper level and we start to reveal our unique gifts that we can offer to a world in crisis. As science is catching up with indigenous wisdom we can start to appreciate why a co-creative partnership with the conscious intelligence of our green relatives is so beneficial to our body, mind and spirit. It is a way of living in deeper harmony with nature for physical and mental health, emotional balance, spiritual vitality and the understanding of our individual place in the world.ĭeeper harmony means the realisation that all plants, trees and fungi have a level of consciousness that we can interact with, receive healing and guidance from and with which we can live more conscious and rewarding lives. Plant Consciousness is a philosophy for life.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |