Humanity has a tendency towards anthropocentrism, considering itself the pinnacle of evolution. However, when looking at biomass, we find ourselves tiny compared to plants and other forms of life. We are one of the youngest species: in comparison to the history of the Earth, our emergence occurred just eight seconds ago. Nevertheless, many people consider themselves the most intelligent beings on the planet, as Susan Lahi asserts.
Phytoplankton, which appeared over a billion years ago, consists of photosynthetic organisms living in aquatic environments. Primarily, these are unicellular organisms, although they include bacteria and protozoa. Interestingly, no one can say for certain what consciousness is, and most agree that self-awareness is an important aspect of consciousness. Paradoxically, even unicellular organisms demonstrate some signs of self-awareness.
What if consciousness is not an exclusively human trait, and if in fact there are many more intelligent beings on Earth than we think?
Research is beginning to support this idea. Some scientists argue that every cellular entity in the universe, regardless of its size—from simple cells to massive forests—may possess consciousness, as at the microscopic level they all share similar characteristics.
In the 1990s, the theory of cellular consciousness (CC) was proposed, suggesting that life and intelligence share the same nature. According to this concept, all living organisms possess consciousness and are capable of self-awareness, as well as having emotional reactions to their sensory and perceptual experiences. Within this theory, unicellular prokaryotes, such as bacteria, engage in associative learning, form stable memories, make decisions, and even anticipate events. They are capable of forming social groups, where they exhibit both cooperation and competition, including primitive forms of altruism, where some cells risk their existence for others.
One vivid example is eukaryotic cells, such as Physarum polycephalum—a slime mold that can solve mathematical problems and find its way out of mazes without external stimuli.
There are also bacteria that can determine when their numbers are sufficient for collective actions. For example, some marine bioluminescent bacteria release molecules that cause glowing only when a certain population density is reached. Dr. Bonnie Lynn Bassler from Princeton University emphasizes that bacteria communicate, count, and perform tasks in groups.
Researchers note that the difference between the consciousness of unicellular organisms and human consciousness is that the former is perceived as intuition rather than full-fledged self-awareness.
Plants are also considered within this theory. Plant neurobiologist Stefano Mancuso, PhD, describes how plants respond to anesthesia similarly to humans—by ceasing to react. Although plants are perceived as stationary beings, some, like the Venus flytrap, can exhibit complex behaviors, including migrating north in response to climate changes.
Mancuso conducted an experiment with beans, showing how a plant "knows" where a support is located. When the bean was climbing up, it released a curved shoot to latch onto a metal rod. In another study, he found that when two plants reach the same support, one "realizes" the victory of the other and begins to seek alternative paths.
Monica Gagliano, PhD, conducted experiments with mimosa plants that respond to touch by folding their leaves. She noticed that after repeated exposure to the same stimulus, the mimosas stopped reacting, indicating an ability to remember.
In 2025, Mancuso and his colleagues explored the possibility of plants possessing two types of consciousness—unconscious, making quick decisions, and conscious, making more thoughtful decisions. In the case of the mimosa, closing its leaves when shaken can be considered an unconscious response, while remembering that experience indicates a higher level of awareness.
The group also considered the possibility of unicellular organisms having two types of consciousness, arguing that all levels of life share common factors: biological material, energy flow, and information. Some scientists have already attempted to establish a connection between these elements and human consciousness.
Dr. Marco Cavalli from the Polytechnic University of Turin is working on a theory suggesting that cellular membranes and surrounding water interact with the Earth's energy fields, forming the matter that makes up our brains. Humans use neurochemical and electrical signals to create a narrative about themselves based on interactions with these fields.
Other animals and plants also have cellular membranes and adjacent water, although they may not create complex narratives about their existence. This could be a plus: human stories are often complicated by self-awareness and anxieties that can hinder optimal use of energy fields.
Another interesting idea is that human self-awareness arises when there are enough nodes in the neural network to connect. According to theorist Jamie Mona, the number of such nodes should be around 70 billion. In dense forests, the number of nodes between plants and fungi can significantly exceed this figure. If cells also possess consciousness, this number increases exponentially.
Mona claims that in some forests on Earth, one can count billions of trees, and in meadows and prairies, there are also billions of plants, which may indicate the existence of self-aware ecosystems.
In South Africa in the 1990s, dead kudu antelopes were observed that had no visible injuries. Zoologist Wouter van Hoven discovered that the cause of their death was acacias, which, suffering from drought, increased the toxic content in their leaves and sent chemical signals to other trees up to 50 meters away to warn of the need to change leaf composition.
This behavior of plants is usually interpreted as a result of chemical reactions and evolutionary processes, rather than as a sign of intelligence and consciousness. But what is human functioning if not a combination of biological and neurochemical processes? The question of how we manage our consciousness remains relevant.
Phytoplankton, although tiny, plays a key role in the oceanic food chain. It produces more than 50% of the oxygen on Earth and absorbs over 40% of the carbon dioxide generated from burning fossil fuels.
Humanity has expended much effort to adapt the environment to its needs, which scientists believe may lead to the sixth mass extinction. Nevertheless, plants have been sustaining life on the planet for thousands of years, cooperating with one another. Perhaps it is time to rethink our understanding of ourselves and our role in the natural world.
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