In this article, I inquire into the reasons for the all-too-frequent association of plants and secrets. Among various hypotheses explaining this connection from the standpoint of plant morphology and physiology, the one that stands out is the idea that plants are not only objects in the natural environment, but also subjects with a peculiar mode of accessing the world. The core of the “plant enigma” is, therefore, onto-phenomenological. Positively understood, the secret of their subjectivity leaves just enough space for the self-expression and the self-interpretation of vegetal life.
References
[1]
Tompkins, P.; Bird, C. The Secret Life of Plants: A Fascinating Account of the Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Relations Between Plants and Man; Harper & Row: New York, NY, USA, 1973.
[2]
Koechlin, F. Pflanzenpalaver: Belauschte Geheimnisse der botanischen Welt; Lenos Verlag: Basel, Switzerland, 2008.
[3]
Goodman, E. Plant Secrets; Charlesbridge Publishing: Watertown, DC, USA, 2009.
[4]
Suzuki, D. Smarty plants: Uncovering the secret world of plant behavior. Available online: http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episode/smarty-plants-uncovering-the-secret-world-of-plant-behaviour.html (accessed on 24 December 2012).
[5]
Marder, M. The Life of Plants and the Limits of Empathy. Dialogue Can. Phil. Rev. 2013, 51. in press.
[6]
Aquinas. The Summa Theologica of Saint Thomas Aquinas; Encyclopedia Britannica: Chicago, IL, USA, 1952.
[7]
Dante. Divine Comedy. Oxford University Press: Oxford: UK, 1998.
[8]
Trewavas, A. Aspects of Plant Intelligence. Ann. Bot. 2003, 92, 1–20, doi:10.1093/aob/mcg101.
[9]
Jaillais, Y.; Chory, J. Unraveling the Paradoxes of Plant Hormone Signaling Integration. Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol. 2010, 17, 642–645, doi:10.1038/nsmb0610-642.
[10]
Nietzsche, F. On the Genealogy of Morality; Hackett: Indianapolis, IN, USA, 1998.
[11]
Heidegger, M. What is Called Thinking?; Harper & Row: New York, NY, USA, 1968.
[12]
Heidegger, M. Letter on Humanism. In Basic Writings; Krell, D.F., Ed.; HarperCollins: San Francisco, CA, USA, 1977.
[13]
Gagliano, M.; Mancuso, S.; Robert, D. Towards Understanding Plant Bioacoustics. Tren. Pl. Sci. 2012, 17, 323–325, doi:10.1016/j.tplants.2012.03.002.
[14]
Hegel, G.W.F. Aesthetics: Lectures on Fine Art; Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK, 1998.
[15]
Chamowitz, D. What a Plant Knows: A Field Guide to the Senses of your Garden—and Beyond; Farrar, Straus & Giroux: Oxford, UK, 2012.
[16]
Marder, M. Plant Intentionality and the Phenomenological Framework of Plant Intelligence. Plan. Sign. Beh. 2012, 7, 1365–1372, doi:10.4161/psb.21954.
