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Planta Sapiens

Unmasking Plant Intelligence

Paco Calvo Natalie Lawrence

$24.99

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English
Little Brown
12 September 2023
'A joy to read ... mind-expanding' Book of the Week, Guardian
'A bold and brave paean to our planet's ligneous, leafy kingdom' Telegraph

'An impressive exploration and dazzling insight into the lives of plants' Reaction Book Digest

What is it like to be a plant?

It's not a question we might think to contemplate, even though many of us live surrounded by plants. Science has long explored the wonderful ways in which plants communicate, behave and shape their environments: from chemical warfare to turning their predators to cannibalism. But they're usually just the backdrop to our frenetic animal lives.

While plants may not have brains or move around as we do, cutting-edge science is revealing that they have astonishing inner worlds of an alternate kind to ours. They can plan ahead, learn, recognise their relatives, assess risks and make decisions. They can even be put to sleep. Innovative new tools might allow us to actually see them do these things - from electrophysiological recordings to MRI and PET scans. If you can look in the right way, a world full of drama unfurls.

In PLANTA SAPIENS, Professor Paco Calvo offers a bold new perspective on plant biology and cognitive science. Using the latest scientific findings, Calvo challenges us to make an imaginative leap into a world that is so close and yet so alien - one that will expand our understanding of our own minds.

From their rich subjective experiences to how they are inspiring novel ways of approaching the ecological crisis, PLANTA SAPIENS is a dazzling exploration of the lives of plants and a call to approach how we think about the natural world in a new, maverick way.

By:   ,
Imprint:   Little Brown
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 196mm,  Width: 126mm,  Spine: 26mm
Weight:   240g
ISBN:   9780349128436
ISBN 10:   034912843X
Pages:   304
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  ELT Advanced ,  Primary
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Paco Calvo is Professor of Philosophy of Science at the Minimal Intelligence Lab (MINTLab) in the University of Murcia, Spain, where his research is primarily in exploring and experimenting with the possibility of plant intelligence. In his research at?MINTLab, he studies the ecological basis of plant intelligence by conducting experimental studies at the intersection of plant neurobiology and ecological psychology. He has given many talks on the topic of plant intelligence to academic and non-academic audiences around the world during the last decade. Natalie Lawrence is a writer and illustrator with a PhD and MSc in the History and Philosophy of Science and a MCantab in Zoology from the University of Cambridge. Her work has appeared in BBC Wildlife, Aeon Magazine and Public Domain Review. She has been a TEDx speaker and appeared on BBC Woman's Hour.

Reviews for Planta Sapiens: Unmasking Plant Intelligence

Are plants conscious? Before you say no, read this fascinating new book -- Michael Pollan, author of THIS IS YOUR MIND ON PLANTS Calvo has a wonderfully infectious enthusiasm for his subject that makes this book, for all its complex science, a joy to read. He challenges us to set aside our 'zoocentric' perspective and to change our view of plants radically: from mechanisms akin to robots to complex organisms with a range of behaviours, responding to and anticipating their environments. In doing so, he has written a genuinely mind-expanding book -- Book of the Day * Guardian * PLANTA SAPIENS is [a] bold and brave paean to our planet's ligneous, leafy kingdom. I mostly relished the intellectual interrogation, the maverick thinking, and add my voice to his call to think beyond our prejudices and our anthropocentric indoctrination * Daily Telegraph * PLANTA SAPIENS presents 'fertile possibilities' to the public and in doing so it has put science on notice ... We should be delighted with Professor Calvo's seeding of scientific curiosity for the hope that it offers -- Diana Beresford-Kroeger, author of TO SPEAK FOR THE TREES An impressive exploration and dazzling insight into the lives of plants * Reaction Book Digest * An important book * Observer *


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