Paco Calvo

Director, MINT Lab

Paco Calvo is a renowned cognitive scientist and philosopher of biology, known for his groundbreaking research in the field of plant cognition and intelligence. He is a professor at the University of Murcia in Spain, where he leads the Minimal Intelligence Lab (MINT Lab), focusing on the study of minimal cognition in plants. Calvo’s interdisciplinary work combines insights from biology, philosophy, and cognitive science to explore the fascinating world of plant behavior, decision-making, and problem-solving. By investigating the complex interactions and adaptive responses exhibited by plants, Paco Calvo has significantly contributed to our understanding of cognition beyond the animal kingdom, challenging conventional perspectives on intelligence and mental capacities.

Contact

fjcalvo@um.es

+34 (868) 88-7752

Platforms

Google Scholar

LINV Lab

Research Areas

Plant Signaling & Behavior

Plant Cogntion & Sentience

Philosophy of Plant Neurobiology

Paco’s Book

Paco’s News

Listening to & Being with the Earth: A Conversation with John Borrows & Paco Calvo

Plants show signs of communication and of learning. They produce and respond to many of the same neurochemicals as humans, including anesthetics. They share resources with one another, and when under threat, emit signals of warning and of pain.  Today on Speaking Out...

New Video on Diverse Intelligences featuring the MINT Lab

Scientists are discovering a surprising array of diverse intelligences across the universe. This video offers a look into findings from recent research about animal intelligence, and explores new ways of framing how we think about plant and cellular intelligences.

The Potential of Action Potentials Now in Synthese

The journal article "The Potential of Action Potentials" by Johnny Lee and Paco Calvo finally made it from a pre-print to an article published in Synthese!         Download the original pre-print here.

Learning to Speak Plant

What does it take to learn to speak plant? MINT Lab Director Paco Calvo and others tell Ambrook Research how they are getting closer to decoding plant language.

Paco Calvo on Intelligent Plants in Podcast “The Science in the Fiction”

MINT Lab Head Paco Calvo gets interviewed by the podcast “The Science in the Fiction”

Can Plants Think?

Paco Calvo tells the New York Times why plants may be able to think.

Do Plants Have Emotions?

Do plants have emotions? In her excellent book review of "Planta Sapiens" in the Washington Post, Barbara King confronts these questions.

Branching out

A new book review on Planta Sapiens by TLS!

What Plants Are Saying About Us

Paco Calvo talks to Nautilus writer Amanda Gefter on why brains are not the root of cognition.

What’s it like to be a plant?

Psychology Today interviewed Paco about Planta Sapiens, the book he recently published with Natalie Lawrence.      

Paco’s Videos

Paco’s Events