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Argument

A deep nexial dimension characterizes biological systems, at the molecular scale through to the organic scale, and at both the social and cultural levels. The link between individuals and the resulting networks of influence is not limited to the animal realm. It is becoming clearer that plants in a local area are strongly coupled together in close-knit networks, either directly or via the medium of fungi or bacteria. In each realm, thanks to the nexial level, cooperation and collective decision-making become possible.

 

On the one hand, this evidence requests clarifying the notion of cognition in order to understand it in stationary organisms that do not have a brain or any neural cores, such as plants. In other words, it first requires identifying the network model that the individual embodies, i.e. a complex web forming a loop, when this latter is devoid of nodes in the form of neural cores. Second, it is necessary to specify the type of network enabling the initiation of collective actions, and their effectiveness in the plant paradigm. Finally, one type of network has become the source of inspiration for the development of deep learning. Then, other types of biological systems, such as those resulting from the interconnected root systems of a plant unit, may inspire innovations in artificial networks, and could be helpful in different fields.

 

References :

  • Baluska, F., Mancuso, S., Volkmann, D., & Barlow, P. 2009. The ‘root-brain’ hypothesis of Charles & Francis Darwin: Revival after more than 125 years. Plant Signaling & Behavior, 4, 1–7.
  • Biedrzycki, M. L., Bais, H. P. 2010. Kin recognition in plants: a mysterious behaviour unsolved. Journal of Experimental Botany 61:4123–4128.
  • Darwin, C. 1880. The power of movements in plants. John Murray.
  • Gagliano, M. 2015. In a green frame of mind: perspectives on the behavioural ecology and cognitive nature of plants. AoB PLANTS 7: plu075; doi:10.1093/aobpla/plu075.
  • Lyon, P. 2005. The biogenic approach to cognition. Cognitive Processing 7:11–29.
  • Maturana, H. R. 1970/1980. Biology of cognition. In: Maturana, H. R., Varela, F. J., eds. Autopoiesis and cognition: the realization of the living. Dordecht: D. Reidel Publishing Co, 5–58.