A public talk by Paco Calvo in Athens offers an opportunity to engage with new thinking on plant intelligence and broader questions about how intelligence is understood across living systems
What does intelligence mean when it is no longer considered an exclusively human trait. Can plants perceive, adapt, and respond to their environment in ways that expand our understanding of life and cognition.
The renowned cognitive scientist, philosopher of biology, and author of Planta Sapiens, Paco Calvo, will give a public talk in Athens on plant intelligence and emerging approaches to the relationship between humans, technology, and living systems.
The event takes place on Thursday 18 June 2026 at 19:00 at the Goulandris Natural History Museum as part of the third edition of The Lyceum Project, held on 19 and 20 June at the Athens Conservatoire, under the theme Entangled Intelligence Animate Ancestral Artificial.
The Demokritos National Centre for Scientific Research, the World Human Forum, and the Goulandris Natural History Museum invite the public to a conversation with a leading thinker exploring intelligence beyond anthropocentric frameworks. The event will be introduced by Alexandra Mitsotaki, President and Co founder of the World Human Forum.
About Paco Calvo
Paco Calvo is Professor of Philosophy of Science at the University of Murcia in Spain and Director of the Minimal Intelligence Laboratory MINT Lab. His research focuses on the foundations of cognition, with emphasis on plant intelligence, minimal cognition, ecological psychology, and embodied approaches to mind.
He has published extensively on plant behaviour, cognition without brains, and the philosophical implications of intelligence beyond the animal kingdom. His work combines philosophy, cognitive science, plant physiology, and comparative psychology, challenging neurocentric models of mind and agency.
He is co author, with Natalie Lawrence, of Planta Sapiens, which explores the emerging science of plant intelligence. He is also involved in interdisciplinary research on plant inspired robotics, ecological adaptation, and new models of agency in living systems.
His work has been featured in international media and lectures, contributing to public and academic debates on plant cognition.
Event information
Thursday 18 June 2026 at 19:00
Goulandris Natural History Museum
Angelou Goulandri Amphitheatre
100 Othonos Street, Kifisia, Athens
The talk will be held in English
Free admission, entry on a first come first served basis
