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Plant intelligence: why, why not or where?
Fatima Cvrcková1, Helena Lipavská, Viktor Zárský
1Department of Plant Physiology, Faculty of Sciences, Charles University, Praha, Czech Republic. fatima@natur.cuni.cz
Plant Signaling & Behavior
|October 10, 2009
Summary
This study proposes a strict definition for plant intelligence, requiring memory and active information recall. A new criterion helps identify genuine plant intelligence by assessing algorithmic model applicability to stored environmental data.
Area of Science:
- Plant Science
- Cognitive Biology
- Philosophy of Science
Background:
- The concept of plant intelligence is debated, often conflated with Darwinian fitness or used metaphorically.
- Existing definitions lack strict criteria, hindering scientific evaluation of plant cognitive abilities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish a rigorous definition of plant intelligence.
- To propose a criterion for evaluating phenomena potentially related to plant intelligence.
Main Methods:
- Defined memory as stored information that is actively accessed.
- Proposed an algorithmic model criterion to assess plant behaviors.
- Re-evaluated existing examples of plant intelligence against the new criterion.
Main Results:
- A strict definition of plant intelligence necessitates memory and active recall.
- The proposed algorithmic model criterion can differentiate between true and apparent plant intelligence.
- Only a subset of previously cited plant intelligence examples satisfy the strict criteria.
Conclusions:
- A more precise framework is needed to study plant intelligence.
- The proposed criterion offers a method for objective evaluation of plant cognitive capabilities.
- Further research should apply this criterion to explore plant memory and learning.
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