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The Language of Plants

Science, Philosophy, Literature
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Language of Plants explores the fascinating idea that plants are sentient and communicative beings, a concept dating back to the eighteenth-century naturalist Erasmus Darwin and now central to fields like plant neurobiology and ecological philosophy. This collection of essays bridges biology and the humanities, revealing how plants use complex chemical languages to interact with their environment and each other. By deepening our understanding of plants as active participants in ecosystems, the book challenges traditional views of plants as passive and encourages more ethical and sustainable relationships with the vegetal world.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for readers interested in science, nature, philosophy, ecology, and critical plant studies—especially those keen to explore innovative ecological awareness and interdisciplinary approaches to plant life and environmental ethics.

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The Language of Plants brings together groundbreaking essays from across the disciplines to foster a dialogue between the biological sciences and the humanities and to reconsider our relation to the vegetal world in new ethical and political terms.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The eighteenth-century naturalist Erasmus Darwin (grandfather of Charles) argued that plants are animate, living beings and attributed them sensation, movement, and a certain degree of mental activity, emphasising the continuity between humankind and plant existence. Two centuries later, the understanding of plants as active and communicative organisms has reemerged in such diverse fields as plant neurobiology, philosophical posthumanism, and ecocriticism. The Language of Plants brings together groundbreaking essays from across the disciplines to foster a dialogue between the biological sciences and the humanities and to reconsider our relation to the vegetal world in new ethical and political terms.

Viewing plants as sophisticated information-processing organisms with complex communication strategies (they can sense and respond to environmental cues and play an active role in their own survival and reproduction through chemical languages) radically transforms our notion of plants as unresponsive beings, ready to be instrumentally appropriated. By providing multifaceted understandings of plants, informed by the latest developments in evolutionary ecology, the philosophy of biology, and ecocritical theory, The Language of Plants promotes the freedom of imagination necessary for a new ecological awareness and more sustainable interactions with diverse life forms.

Contributors: Joni Adamson, Nancy E. Baker, Karen L. F. Houle, Luce Irigaray, Erin James, Richard Karban, Andre Kessler, Isabel Kranz, Michael Marder, Timothy Morton, Christian Nansen, Robert A. Raguso, Catriona Sandilands.

Reviewed in The Sydney Morning Herald here.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised for its insightful and compelling essays, The Language of Plants is recognised as a timely and significant contribution to critical plant studies. Reviewers highlight its success in advancing the discussion around plant intelligence and agency, offering a thought-provoking perspective that helps decentre human dominance in ecological discourse. Esteemed authors in the field deem it an excellent resource for anyone interested in the evolving understanding of plant life and environmental stewardship.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781517901851

Publisher: University of Minnesota Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 25 April 2017

Country: United States

Imprint: University of Minnesota Press

Illustration: 8

Contributors:

  • Edited by John C. Ryan
  • Edited by Patrícia Vieira
  • Edited by Monica Gagliano

Audience: Tertiary education

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 51.0mm

Width: 140.0mm

Height: 216.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 352

About the Author

Monica Gagliano is research associate professor of evolutionary ecology and research fellow of the Australian Research Council at the University of Western Australia.

John C. Ryan is honorary research fellow in English and cultural studies at the University of Western Australia.

Patrcia Vieira is associate professor of Spanish and Portuguese, comparative literature, and film and media studies and director of the comparative literature program at Georgetown University.

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