The Lost Language of Plants: The Ecological Importance of Plant Medicines for Life on Earth

By Stephen Harrod Buhner

Summarized with permission of Chelsea Green.
All rights reserved.

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Epistemological Conflicts

• Language shapes our thoughts, observations, and behaviors. People often change their personalities when they change the language they speak.
• Scientists and mathematicians can only see what their frameworks allow them to see; their assumptions restrict what is observable to them.
• Western cultures value rational detached observation, so the unobservable spirit, energy, and connections that humans feel are ignored.

• A sacred spirit is at the center of all things in the Universe.
• All physical matter is made from this sacred energy.
• All matter thus possesses a soul or sacred intelligence.
• All matter infused with this sacred intelligence can communicate, meaning that humans can therefore communicate with other matter on this planet.
• Plants predate humans on this planet so their knowledge is deeper. They are able and willing to help humans when asked.
• Humans must learn to communicate with the various other intelligences on Earth in order to become complete beings.
• Places and humans can change and grow in sacredness/spirit over time. Humans need to learn to tune in to various locations.
• All life-forms on Earth have value, none more important than others (including humans). If certain life-forms are ignored or hurt by humans, they will fight back, causing tragic consequences.

Contrast this with the universe-as-machine worldview held by Western cultures since the Roman Empire and the advent of Christianity.

• Humans are in charge of nature; it is there for their use. This gives them higher status than animals, plants, and rocks.
• Emotion and spirit have less value than rational thinking. (This makes it easier to destroy plants and animals without regret.)
• Science is the best way to view the world. Its facts and perspectives should not be criticized.
• To understand natural processes, find out how the smallest components work. The context in which they live isn't important.
• White males have higher status than females and people of color.

The recent inclusion of more groups of humans as having equal value has not yet extended to animals and plants. "As a result, trees, lizards, and bacteria can be treated as things to be owned, cut down, experimented on, sold, processed, killed, or consumed without regard for any interior depth or intelligence on their part."

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