Plants as Persons

Matthew Hall

Description

Plants are people too? No, but in this work of philosophical botany Matthew Hall challenges readers to reconsider the moral standing of plants, arguing that they are other-than-human persons. Plants constitute the bulk of our visible biomass, underpin all natural ecosystems, and make life on Earth possible. Yet plants are considered passive and insensitive beings rightly placed outside moral consideration. As the human assault on nature continues, more ethical behavior toward plants is needed. Hall surveys Western, Eastern, Pagan, and Indigenous thought as well as modern science for attitudes toward plants, noting the particular resources for plant personhood and those modes of thought which most exclude plants. The most hierarchical systems typically put plants at the bottom, but Hall finds much to support a more positive view of plants. Indeed, some indigenous animisms actually recognize plants as relational, intelligent beings who are the appropriate recipeints of care and respect. New scientific findings encourage this perspective, revealing that plants possess many of the capacities of sentience and mentality traditionally denied them.
Acknowledgments

A Philosophical Botany

1. The Roots of Disregard: Exclusion and Inclusion in Classical Greek Philosophy

2. Dogma and Domination: Keeping Plants at a Distance

3. Passive Plants in Christian Traditions

4. Dealing with Sentience and Violence in Hindo, Jain, and Buddhist Texts

5. Indigenous Animisms, Plant Persons, and Respectful Action

6. Pagans, Plants, and Personhood

7. Bridging the Gulf: Moving, Sensing, Intelligent, Plants

Recreating a Place for Flourishing

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Sujets

• Philosophie
• Éthique et morale
• Sciences de la nature
• Botanique
• Ethique et morale
• Engineering & Technology
• Ethics in religion
• Environmental science

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 06 mai 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438434308
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

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P L A N T S A S P E R S O N S

SUNY series on Religion and the Environment Harold Coward, editor

P L A N T S A S P E R S O N S  A Philosophical Botany

M AT T H E W H A L L

Cover art, “Betula pedant,” courtesy of Mairi Gillies www.mairigillies.com 2010.

Published by State University of New York Press, Albany

© 2011 State University of New York

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu

Production by Kelli W. LeRoux Marketing by Anne M. Valentine

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Hall, Matthew, 1980- Plants as persons : a philosophical botany / Matthew Hall. p. cm. — (SUNY series on religion and the environment) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 978-1-4384-3429-2 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-4384-3428-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Botany—Philosophy. I. Title.

QK46.H35 2011 580.1--dc22

2010018516

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For Val

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1

2 3 4

5

6 7

Acknowledgments

C O N T E N T S

A Philosophical Botany T HE R OOTS OF D ISREGARD : E XCLUSION AND I NCLUSION IN C LASSICAL G REEK P HILOSOPHY D OGMA AND D OMINATION : K EEPING P LANTS AT A D ISTANCE

P ASSIVE P LANTS IN C HRISTIAN T RADITIONS D EALING WITH S ENTIENCE AND V IOLENCE IN H INDU , J AIN , AND B UDDHIST T EXTS I NDIGENOUS A NIMISMS , P LANT P ERSONS , AND R ESPECTFUL A CTION P AGANS , P LANTS , AND P ERSONHOOD B RIDGING THE G ULF : M OVING , S ENSING , I NTELLIGENT , P LANTS Recreating a Place for Flourishing Notes

Bibliography Index

vii

ix 1

17 37 55

73

99 119 137 157 171 209 229

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