Disclosing the Hidden Life of Plants. Theories of the Vegetative Soul in Albert the Great’s De vegetabilibus et plantis

In his De vegetabilibus et plantis, Albert the Great reorganizes the entire botanical knowledge of his time, creatively resorting to Aristotelian epistemic principles. Plant complex physiology is theoretically relevant for the theological-philosophical discourse. Nevertheless, plant life is mostly hidden, preventing direct investigation. This is borne out by unclear and fragmentary arguments ascribed to the ‘philosophers’ in the pseudo-Aristotelian De plantis. To rebut ‘those who treated the life of plants confusedly’, Albert explains the vegetative soul in a more rigorous way, exploring innovative themes such as sensitivity and the levels of touch. Going deeper into the reasons for the vegetative power, Albert also highlights the relationship between plant and matter to more general issues.