Trees/plants as sentient beings...thoughts please

[sloth]

After a chat with my my wife (who won't cut a leaf off a house plant!) a few weeks ago I got thinking.

Are trees sentient beings? In a similar way to animals? My initial response was don't be silly they have no nerves or brain. However, they do have a vascular system, can sense their surroundings, communicate through/control themselves (growth/function) with hormones, and have a 'desire' (call it what you want) to avoid damage to themselves in order to survive and reproduce.

So, others views please....

[David Humphries]

Not sentient, as plants are not concious.

 

They do however adapt/react to force or chemical reaction around them.

 

 

 

 

 

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[RobArb]

Allelopathy isn't it?? (spelling)

 

Sent from Rob's GalaxySII

[David Goss]

I am a bit of a hippy for these things too and feel bad when i cut trees (strange i know). I also see the point that its going to be cut no matter whether i do it or someone else, so i would rather it was me because i have the respect for nature that i feel is lacking in a lot of people. We have to live together with trees and everything living for that matter, but sometimes there just isnt room for everything in the same place and the strongest (or smartest) survives, as nature intended. So it is the natural way of things and thats what keeps me sane to think that way

[sloth]

I am a bit of a hippy for these things too and feel bad when i cut trees (strange i know). I also see the point that its going to be cut no matter whether i do it or someone else, so i would rather it was me because i have the respect for nature that i feel is lacking in a lot of people. We have to live together with trees and everything living for that matter, but sometimes there just isnt room for everything in the same place and the strongest (or smartest) survives, as nature intended. So it is the natural way of things and thats what keeps me sane to think that way

 

Kind of feel the same about cutting, I see the good in it as much as possible, and ignore the down sides! Keeps me happy

[sloth]

Not sentient, as plants are not concious.

 

They do however adapt/react to force or chemical reaction around them.

 

 

 

 

 

.

 

Is react to force/chemical reaction not what we do? A hot exhaust burns our skin - a chemical reaction takes place (nerve signal is fired) - it kicks off a series of further reactions which travel through our bodies - these reactions/signals are interpreted (in the form of further chemical reactions) - we then react/adapt our behaviour (pull away).

 

In its most basic form what is our consciousness? Some magical/spiritual thing which resides in our brain? Or, imo, more realistically a very complex and little understood mass of elements and chemicals which interact and manifest or express themselves in a physical form, eg our living bodies, and their actions.

Just a thought...

[RobArb]

What is our consciousness...?? Mmmmm people have been trying to answer that for decades, very philosophical for this time of the day:biggrin:

 

How do we know that we are the perceived consciousness of say a cat perhaps, and we only exist in its mind and what it perceives!?

 

I suppose with a tree, although not "concious" it is an organic lifeform, wood is a living and growing material and could have some sort of "feeling"??

 

Makes you think:001_rolleyes:

 

Sent from Rob's GalaxySII

[scottythepinetree]

There's a book called Supernature by Lyall Watson, some really interesting stuff in it and can be bought on Amazon for 1p + postage. There's a chapter in it where a guy hooks a plant up to a polygraph, then burns a leaf and notices a change in the electro-magnetic field around the plant..... but that's not the interesting bit.

 

He then burns the leaf of another plant in the presence of the plant on the polygraph, and notices a change in the electro-magnetic field of the plant attached to the polygraph at the same instant..... but that's not the interesting bit.

 

He then THINKS about burning the leaf of the plant on the polygraph, and notices a change in the electro-magnetic field of the plant at the instant he thinks about harming it.

 

There are plenty of other experiments (of all kinds) documented in the book, but what I really liked about it was that he doesn't draw any conclusions or sensationalise any of it.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Nice to see "natural empathy" abounds here.

[sloth]

There's a book called Supernature by Lyall Watson, some really interesting stuff in it and can be bought on Amazon for 1p + postage. There's a chapter in it where a guy hooks a plant up to a polygraph, then burns a leaf and notices a change in the electro-magnetic field around the plant..... but that's not the interesting bit.

 

He then burns the leaf of another plant in the presence of the plant on the polygraph, and notices a change in the electro-magnetic field of the plant attached to the polygraph at the same instant..... but that's not the interesting bit.

 

He then THINKS about burning the leaf of the plant on the polygraph, and notices a change in the electro-magnetic field of the plant at the instant he thinks about harming it.

 

There are plenty of other experiments (of all kinds) documented in the book, but what I really liked about it was that he doesn't draw any conclusions or sensationalise any of it.

 

Nice idea, but I for one am very doubtful of how much truth is in this story... I have heard it before, and seen similar tests done with unreproducable results. I think some of it probably has its roots in reality, but then Chinese whispers and exaggeration prevailed.