“The Most Basic Form of Learning”: Are Plants “Conscious”?

Here’s the claim: according to one researcher, a tree called a mimosa “appears to ‘learn from experience’” when it comes to either folding or unfolding its leaves. He says this is “the most basic form of learning. . . . [and] is consistent with the idea that this plant has learned something as a result of experience, not from its genes.” He goes on to say that “other plants communicate with each other through chemicals, solve problems, and even appear to have memories,” and other researchers “speculated that plants may be able to count, make decisions, recognize their relatives and even remember events.” Now, this all may point to plants possessing a form of “intelligence,” but leaping to them possessing consciousness is, well, a huge leap!

Yes, God’s creation is unfathomably complex.

Yes, God’s creation is unfathomably complex. And in a biblical perspective, there is no issue with plants having abilities to do things beyond our current understanding, but we know that it is not the same as human or animal life. Humans, unlike plants, are made in God’s image, and the Bible always describes animals and plants as distinct forms of life. For example, mankind and the animals were given permission to eat plants—but not meat—in God’s “very good” creation, and plants are never described as nephesh life (a Hebrew term used for animals and people). Also, when a plant is described as dying, it “withers,” rather than dying in the same sense as a person or an animal would.

Now, the researcher interviewed in the article rejects the history of creation that God has given us in his Word, stating:

If we can understand another form of intelligence that does not require brains, perhaps we can understand what unites us all in the tree of life. We need to find the master key.

In a biblical worldview, we recognize everything was designed by an all-wise, all-powerful Creator.

But “another form of intelligence” has nothing to do with evolution (how does one evolve “consciousness” or “intelligence” anyway?)—it just complicates the story by adding in even more complexity that evolution must explain. But in a biblical worldview, we recognize everything was designed by an all-wise, all-powerful Creator. Different kinds of life, with differing abilities, is not a hard thing for our God. The more we study what God has made, the more we should be moved to worship and praise the One who is so far beyond us!

Get More Answers on Answers News

This item was discussed Monday on Answers News with cohosts Dr. Gabriela Haynes, Rob Webb, and Dr. Georgia Purdom. Answers News is our weekly news program filmed live before a studio audience here at the Creation Museum, broadcast on our Answers in Genesis YouTube channel, and posted to Answers TV. We also covered the following topics:

• Are more children dying because of the heartbeat law?
• Does a JWST image prove evolutionary ideas?
• What is the solution to youth identity crises?
• And more!

Be sure to join us each Monday at 2 p.m. (ET) on YouTube or later that day on Answers TV for Answers News. You won’t want to miss this unique news program that gives science and culture news from a distinctly biblical and Christian perspective.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.