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At least we probably won’t have any Audrey II situations on our hands.
Over the years, people have argued that plants appear to have feelings. They have commented on the fact that they respond to people talking to them as well as listening to music. However, a group of biologists are working on proving the notion that plants are not conscious.
Biologists from the U.S., Germany, and Britain have stated that practitioners of “plant neurobiology” have really become carried away with the idea that plants seem to sense and react to their environments. Plants do, in fact, have natural adaptations and survival instincts, but they are not consciously making these decisions.
Previous studies have tried to state that plants have brain-like centers in their root tips and have a similar equivalent to animal nervous systems. But, critics have argued that plants have no idea of what is actually happening. They do not seem to have any mental faculties that would include consciousness or feelings.
Frustration has surfaced with many researchers about this topic saying that it would be ridiculous to not continuously question people’s assumptions. It is our job to create claims and allow true scientific discovery to occur. It would be almost irresponsible of scientists to not to continue to question various beliefs.
The debate shall carry on through the years as more and more research is done to study how plants interact. It is a fascinating topic to think about, though. Why don’t you ask your house plant what it thinks about all of this?
