Understanding Plants
Do plants have senses? Are they aware of their environment? | Professor Daniel Chamovitz
About the Course
This course intends to present an intriguing and scientifically valid look at how plants themselves experience the world—from the colors they see to the sensations they feel. Highlighting the latest research in genetics and more, we will delve into the inner lives of plants and explore definitions of memory and consciousness as they relate to plants in asking whether we can say that plants might even be aware of their surroundings. We will draw parallels with the human senses to reveal that we have much more in common with sunflowers and oak trees than we may realize.
About the Professor
Professor Daniel Chamovitz is Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University and Director of the Manna Center for Plant Biosciences at the University. He is one of the most prominent researchers in his field, and his career has been characterized by novel and field-defining research. Passionate about teaching, he has been awarded outstanding lecturer at Tel Aviv University several times. His bestselling book What a Plant Knows – the basis of this course – was elected one of Amazon's Top 10 Science Books for 2012 and translated into 13 languages.