Litcius/Paper detail

Questions about sentience are not scientific but cultural

Yoram Gutfreund

2023Animal Sentience10 citationsDOIOpen Access PDF

Abstract

Abstract: The findings of complex cognitive-like behaviours in plants are surprising and exciting. However, they do not provide a scientific reason for ascribing sentience to plants. The target article, in trying to provide evidence for sentience in plants, exposes the weakness of the science of animal consciousness in general. In this commentary, I try to explain why the scientific method is incapable of resolving the question of which organisms or systems are sentient.

Topics & Concepts

SentienceConsciousnessEpistemologyPsychologyCognitive scienceSociologyPhilosophyPlant and Biological Electrophysiology StudiesPlant and animal studiesAnimal and Plant Science Education