Dublin, Ireland: Graphikon Teo (
2021)
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Abstract
This is an article in Thomas J.J. McCloughlin (Ed.) The Nature of Science in Biology: A Resource for Educators. Graphikon Teo, Dublin.
Abstract: Philosophers usually tend to think of animals when they think
about life, plants often only appear in their works as on the margins, in the
background; they are rarely in the centre. However, plant life involves
unique processes, including remarkable modes of interaction between plants
and their environments. Needless to say, plants are vital parts of ecosystems.
Serious attention to plants provides novel and interesting perspectives on
many topics in philosophy of biology, including individuality, organisation
and disease. Plant biology should have a substantial part in philosophy
education. To support this assertion, this paper briefly describes three topics
related to plant-environment interaction and explains some of their
philosophical implications. These topics are growth, plant hormones and
plant-plant microbiota interactions, all of which present crucial aspects
related to some prevalent topics in philosophy of biology such as
individuality, systems thinking, and holobiont.