Plants, our sisters: interdisciplinary approach to life in terms of kinship

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Phylogenetic classification has put an end to the ontological and scientific divide between animals and plants. It challenges the partition between these two realms and refutes the Aristotelian thesis dissociating humans from animals and plants. The article ‘Plants, Our Sisters’ presented here reflects on the common biological heritage shared by animals (humans included) and plants. To understand the connections between living beings, we propose a hybrid path of thinking combining biology and the social sciences. Following an interdisciplinary approach, we present the development of phylogeny and recent discoveries about plants to highlight a common evolutionary path with animals, and we identify some sociocultural obstacles related to the Aristotelian and Judeo-Christian heritage that have prevented the integration of all living organisms as kin. There is currently a revival of the debate, which fascinates the general public, about the unsuspected capacities of plants (sensitivity, learning capacity, behavior) including even their agency and intelligence. The discovery of many of these abilities in plants led to developing the concept of plant neurobiology. The rationale for applying these terms to plants is that no better appropriate words are available to describe their abilities and behaviors. If used as a metaphor, this position is harmless, but it raises questions where these cognitive descriptions are proven. Beyond a discussion about the terminology used, the concepts relating to plant neurobiology should induce us to reconsider in a fruitful way the evolutionary origin of ‘neurosystems’ and to fully take into consideration the kinship between plants and animals, including humans. In this context, the perception of humans detached from all other species is no longer tenable. It would be worthwhile understanding that our common evolutionary history leads us to view living beings as one kin and to set it in resonance with other ontologies.