An interdisciplinary reflection on the concept of representation in plant cognition

In this paper, we continue the reflection initiated by Bianchi and Castiello (2023) on the various conceptions of representation, with reference to their possible application (or not) to the field of plant cognition. This interdisciplinary analysis has intersected a variety of related issues, such as the way of interpreting simplicity/complexity as well as levels of emergence in cognitive systems; the study of predictive models in embodied and action-oriented approaches to explaining anticipatory behaviours, attention, and various forms of bodily memory for the detection and selective organization of environmental information. From a pluralistic perspective, the need is to continue this multilevel research able to circumscribe the analysis through species-specific models and tests to understand whether plant behaviour makes use of representations (and in which sense) or whether it is necessary, and more convenient, to refer to the processes underlying their behavioural responses in different or new ways. The research is ongoing.