The Benefits of Plant Biology for Philosophy Education

Abstract

Philosophers usually tend to think of animals when they think about life; plants often only appear in their works on the margins, in the background. They are rarely in the centre. However, plants are vital parts of ecosystems, and plant life involves unique processes, including remarkable modes of interaction between plants and their environments. Plant biology should have a significant place in philosophy of biology curriculum so that students can learn about complexity and dynamicity of organisms and organism-environment interactions, diversity in nature, and, in general, the processes of life in a richer, broader, better way. Furthermore, giving serious attention to plants provides novel and interesting perspectives on many topics in philosophy of biology, including individuality, organisation and disease. To support this assertion, this paper briefly describes three topics related to plant-environment interaction and explains some of their philosophical implications. These topics are growth, plant hormones and plant-plant microbiota interactions, all of which present crucial aspects related to some prevalent topics in philosophy of biology such as individuality, systems thinking, and holobiont.

Keywords

• plant biology
• hormones
• individuality
• systems thinking
• holobiont
• organism
• philosophy of biology

Bitki Biyolojisinin Felsefe Eğitimine Katkıları

Abstract

Filozoflar yaşamla ilgili düşündüklerinde, bunu genellikle hayvanlar üzerinden yapmaya meyillidirler; bitkiler, çalışmalarında çoğunlukla arka plandadır, nadiren çalışmaların merkezinde oldukları görülür. Oysaki bitkiler, ekosistemlerin hayati derecede önemli parçalarıdır ve bitki yaşamı, bitki ve çevresi arasındaki etkileşimin çok ilginç halleri de dahil olmak üzere eşsiz süreçler içerir. Bitki biyolojisi, biyoloji felsefesi derslerinde önemli bir yere sahip olmalıdır. Ancak böylece öğrenciler, organizmaların ve organizma-çevre etkileşimlerinin kompleksite ve dinamikliğini, doğadaki çeşitliliği ve genel olarak, yaşamın süreçlerini daha zengin, kapsamlı ve iyi bir şekilde öğrenebilirler. Bunların yanında, bitkilere yeterli ilginin gösterilmesi, biyoloji felsefesinde bireylik, organizasyon ve hastalık gibi birçok konuda yeni ve ilginç yaklaşımlar sağlayacaktır. Bu tezi desteklemek için, bitki-çevre etkileşimi ile ilgili üç konu örnek olarak ana hatlarıyla anlatılacak ve bu konuların felsefi yansımaları açıklanacaktır. Birbirleriyle ilişkili olan bu üç konu: Büyüme, bitki hormonları ve bitki-bitki mikrobiyom etkileşimleridir. Bu konular; bireylik, sistem düşüncesi ve holobiyont tartışmaları gibi biyoloji felsefesindeki temel konulara önemli yaklaşımlar sunar.

Keywords

• bitki biyolojisi
• hormonlar
• bireylik
• sistemler düşüncesi
• holobiyont
• organizma
• biyoloji felsefesi

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