Do Trees Feel Pain?

those experiments which involved causing stress& damage to plant cells
does not mean that the plant (or tree)
actually feels pain.

The normal cell response to damage may be all those measuring devices are picking up, & not chemical-electrical impulses to a plant equivelent of a brain.


anyhow, pain is the alert mechanism, so that the body (human or animal) must take immediate action to react or remove itself from harms way.

a pain alert mechanism is not needed by a tree, as normal cellular mechanisms act locally/individually at the onset of a axe strike/lightning bolt/severed limb/ etc etc

Originally posted by St Udio
The normal cell response to damage may be all those measuring devices are picking up, & not chemical-electrical impulses to a plant equivelent of a brain.

It could also be that the plant was preparing to disperse it's energies when faced with it's demise, like routing it's path ahead of time, because plants don't reason the way humans do, if there is anything "thinking" within them, it would be logic alone.

But I still wouldn't rule out the scientist's mind altering the machinery unknowingly.

Another theory is that your own intelligence can be poured into anything your heart allows it to be poured into. The same way that some people can extract information from anyone they come into contact with, without either saying a word.

Originally posted by mmariebored

It could also be that the plant was preparing to disperse it's energies when faced with it's demise,

But I still wouldn't rule out the scientist's mind altering the machinery unknowingly.

Another theory is that your own intelligence can be poured into anything your heart allows it to be poured into.

here we are getting into a person's Aura (an energy field) causing a response in the plant or foilage..
Yes, we see this reaction to 'energy' when a plant perks up in sunlight
and wilts almost immediately when in a shadow.
to my thinking... the energy from an Aura or a spotlight do cause
a measurable response in plants, but the reaction is not a reasoned response or even a 'fright' response...

it is only a biological response... a normal action we endow with emotional properties

I believe the answer to this is yes, and aspirin comes from trees. Also, when plants are deprived of water or traumatized they immediately produce and aspirin like substance.

In one experiment, the link was posted on ATS in one of the threads a few months ago, they had several greenhouses spread over a complex. Different people were given different tools, such as a watering can, a guitar (I think, something musical) and a pair of scissors. The plants were hooked up to a computerized monitoring program. Well everyone did their thing and the plants responded in various ways, and then the person with the scissors came in and started butchering them. The stats went off the charts in all the greenhouses.
(apparently the are quite psi!!!!). Later when the people came in without their tools, the plants RECOGNIZED the one without the scissors, and all the greenhouses went wild.

I believe you very strongly when you felt their trauma. We are surrounded by intelligent life and many are too arrogant to notice.

[edit on 10-2-2009 by mystiq]

Wow, mystiq, I didn't think anyone here was being "arrogant", lol, just people trying to seek out truth from theory.

St Udio, very refreshing point of view and well worded, I completely agree with your last post.

My uneducated guess is that, no, trees cannot feel pain. In order to feel pain, in the sense that I believe you mean it, You must have a nervous system.

Trees do not have one. They do not have the ability to think or feel emotions, IMO.

So no trees dont feel pain.

Keep in mind that is just my uneducated guess and it is quite possible that there might be some obscure scientific evidence that they do, so if I am wrong please forgive my ignorance.

That said, I dont get too upset when I see a tree die or get cut down. It does bother me when I see people cut one down and not plant another one some where else to replace it.

I have a friend who found out about a big old oak tree that was right in the area where some construction crew was going to work. They were just going to tear it down. My friend actually worked to have it moved to a different place. I thought it was cool that she saved the tree like that.

anyway, im getting off topic, so like I said. I dont believe they feel pain due to not having a nervous sytem but I could be wrong...

[edit on 10-2-2009 by gimme_some_truth]

reply to post by Greenize

It is true they don't have nerves, but at least some know when they
are under attack and are able to communicate it to nearby trees.

Trees can communicate with each other

Pretty amazing if you ask me.

reply to post by mmariebored


I'm sorry if that was taken in a personal way on this thread, it was meant as a general "mankind" moment, with scientists only recently even being interested in studying these things. As an example, for years science has taken the viewpoint animals don't feel emotions or show altruism, but simply run on instincts like machines. This certainly isn't scientific to presume anything without tons of research, but rather, was an agenda. Science isn't a credo. It asks questions and researches to find answers. This wasn't meant to insult anyone and I'm sorry if it was misunderstood.

Originally posted by mystiq
reply to post by mmariebored

 

I'm sorry if that was taken in a personal way on this thread, it was meant as a general "mankind" moment, with scientists only recently even being interested in studying these things. As an example, for years science has taken the viewpoint animals don't feel emotions or show altruism, but simply run on instincts like machines. This certainly isn't scientific to presume anything without tons of research, but rather, was an agenda. Science isn't a credo. It asks questions and researches to find answers. This wasn't meant to insult anyone and I'm sorry if it was misunderstood.

LOL, no, it wasn't taken "personally", you're too funny!!

But your post seemed, I don't know, agitated, towards people who don't believe trees, or other plant life, are intelligent.

The problem I have with plants being intelligent is that I have plants in my kitchen and I very often chop up veggies for dinner right in front of them.
Some studies are claiming the plants "communicate to other plants of dangers"...? Just how far does that theory go I wonder.

My guess is that, as St Udio was saying, a person's aura/energy field can and does effect plant life, and if you come at a plant with threatening intentions, you're pouring your "intelligence/aura/energy" into that plant. That being the case, if you feel, say, guilty, in front of your plants and garden because you think they feel pain or dread their demise, then you can actually cause their lack of growth or inability to thrive because of your negative emotions.

Originally posted by mmariebored
My guess is that, as St Udio was saying, a person's aura/energy field can and does effect plant life, and if you come at a plant with threatening intentions, you're pouring your "intelligence/aura/energy" into that plant. That being the case, if you feel, say, guilty, in front of your plants and garden because you think they feel pain or dread their demise, then you can actually cause their lack of growth or inability to thrive because of your negative emotions.

Yes, they have played different music for plants and they do better
under certain types of music.

They controlled the environments well while doing the tests.

There is a lot about this world and all that inhabits it that we do
not fully understand but thru arrogance we make assumptions.

I myself have done this, even on this message board.

reply to post by Ex_MislTech


I've done some research on these "controlled enviroments" and the plants do have contact with the people doing the studies, even if through a thick glass wall there is still interaction. Emotional energies travelling toward objects, people, plants and animals is not limited by distance when your focus is strong enough, which means that the ones studying the plant's behaviors can very well effect the plants just by their own expectancies.
For example, the scientists assume that the plants will enjoy classical music and thrive while listening to that music just because they themselves are soothed by the music. Therefore their expectancies for the plants actually push the plant to thrive even though it would have thrived with, say, death metal, if that was the scientist's choice of relaxation music.