The history and philosophy of biology was and is mostly focused on animals, neglecting the unique aspects of plant life. Recently, however, there is a growing shift towards recognizing plants as active, communicative beings. This "vegetal turn" is driven by scholars in biology, philosophy, and cultural studies, who challenge the view of plants as passive objects. The workshop aims to follow this development by discussing the relevance of plants for pressing scientific and societal questions. It will explore this relevance by looking at its (i) historical, (ii) philosophical, and (iii) social dimensions.

This workshop is organized by the ROTO research group (‘The Return of the Organism in the Biosciences: Theoretical, Historical and Social Dimensions’) at Ruhr University Bochum. For more information regarding the group and our research, please visit https://rotorub.wordpress.com/