CHARBONNEAU – Do plants have consciousness?

 SINCE THE SOURCE of consciousness is biological, probably all living things possess it.

 To suggest that consciousness is the exclusive domain of humans is the height of species chauvinism.

Michael Pollan, author of A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness, was asked what he thought about plant consciousness.

 “TAYLOR OWEN: Why do some scientists believe that plants are conscious?

 “POLLAN: Plants don’t have neurons, but they’ve got a lot more going on than we previously thought. They can hear and they can see. If you play the sound of a caterpillar chomping on leaves, plants will react and send toxic molecules to their leaves. One of the spookiest things is that if you give an anesthetic to a plant, it knocks them out. If you take a Venus flytrap, put it in a bell jar, inject some anesthetic gas – the same ones that put us out for surgery – it will not react when a fly crosses its threshold. You have to ask yourself, what is the plant losing? We would say we’re losing consciousness.”

 We might say we’re losing consciousness but I’m not sure a plant would “say” so. Maybe it’s just a plant’s reaction to a toxic gas.

 We can only infer what the mind of the plant might be. And then we can only assume a mental world of plants in which they have thoughts; and imagine that in their mental world they have words; and that they wonder about their own consciousness; and perhaps ponder human consciousness.

 What the interviewer is really wondering is: “do plants have human consciousness?” to which the answer is decidedly no.

 The real question is whether plants have plant consciousness. Maybe.

 A review of human consciousness is in order.

 It’s a subject that I find intriguing. The problem has perplexed philosophers and scientists for millennia. How is something mental connected to our physical bodies?

 I’ve come up with a mnemonic: SIGU.

 Consciousness is subjective. It’s all about us — the way the world is seen from our personal point of view.

 And consciousness is intentional. The word has a technical meaning. It’s the “aboutness” of consciousness; the subject of our internal ruminations. We can be conscious of anything— real or imaginary.

 Consciousness involves Gestalt; we assemble meaningless things into a comprehensive whole.

 Consciousness is united. We receive all kinds of data from our senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch) and from our thoughts and preconceptions. Yet, it’s all presented in what is sometimes called “the theatre of the mind.”

 If other living things possess consciousness, will it have the same qualities as humans? Not likely. The biological imperative differs between species.

 And is there a limit to the “hardware” a living thing must have in order to possess consciousness? Some argue that a living thing must possess neurons.

 Others say that while plants have no neurons, they do have electrical signaling and chemical communication networks.

 Maybe, some day, plants will reveal their inner world in the study of us.

David Charbonneau is a retired TRU electronics instructor who hosts a blog at http://www.eyeviewkamloops.wordpress.com.