Are Plants Like Patients in Persistent Vegetative States?

Obviously, plants and patients in persistent vegetative states (PPVS) are biologically alive. Plants are capable of circumnutation, growth, and photosynthesis; PPVS breathe, pump blood, and exhibit spontaneous reflexes. The more pressing question is whether they have cognitive capacities. In both cases, there are those who provide a positive and a negative response to the question. This leaves us in a state of indeterminacy. How, then, can we make moral decisions about plants and PPVS based on indeterminacy? This chapter explores the notion of indeterminate moral status in the case of plants and PPVS, which can help us reach conclusions in practical ethics that involve entities with similarly indeterminate cognitive capacities.