New research suggests bees may have a form of subjectivity, a marker used by some to denote consciousness. Where further down to look, past insects? How about plants? Right now, one camp of botanists is arguing that it’s absolutely time to expand our notions of consciousness and intelligence to include plants, while another argues that’s an illogical road to go down. Many more botanists are sitting in the middle, quietly doing remarkable work, waiting to see how the larger debate falls out.
