[-empyre-] starting at the edge of water

[margaretha haughwout]

Glad that Adam and Johannes have brought up the question of shared
knowing between plants and humans, and I love how Christopher and
Ellie have suggested exercises in listening and observation, to
experience for ourselves how communication, shared meanings, might
occur.

In part, this was what I was getting at last week in my (clunky)
question of mediated natures and theories of information and
communication. I would propose that we are limited in how we know that
we know plants, and how we know that plants know us, because of
current theories largely brought to us by early cybernetics, maybe
even the Enlightenment more generally.... Natasha Myers
(https://natashamyers.wordpress.com) has many things to say about
plant communication -- the most compelling arguments of hers, in my
opinion, address how much of the early studies on plant sensing
reflect practices of colonization, and demonstrations of plant pain.

I love what Elaine had to say in Week 2 about other species, and
larger ecologies, as being media for one another. I agree!

I think Ellie and Adam were getting at some of this with earlier posts
about enrichment. Wellness (a result of enrichment?) is observable
through the 5 senses. Humans can be well, and pissed off and ready to
fight.... Can we assume this is true for nonhumans? Is this the
condition of The Immortal Stranger? All kinds of questions about care,
as well as Randall's term "enlivenment" from Week 1 can be brought to
bear here. What do we need to know/ observe with plants to consider
them collaborators, or is there another term, such as "revenge tutors"
that is better than "collaborators"?

Thank you to our participants so far this week. I have many scores to
enact as the weekend descends!

Warmly,
-M