World of Roses: Plants, People, Relationships
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Abstract
This study examines the relationship between humans and ornamental flowering plants—specifically roses—in a context where climate variability has affected societies worldwide, including Thai society. This context has prompted scholars from various disciplines to question the agency of humans, while also increasingly recognizing the significance of “things,” both living and non-living, in the survival of humans and the physical world. This article poses the question: If we do not view rose cultivation as a form of luxury consumption within modern capitalism—meant to imitate, display taste, or add refreshing beauty to repetitive urban life—can we understand rose cultivation from another perspective? Could this shift in perspective affect how humans coexist with plants and other living beings? If so, how? The research employed documentary research methods, collecting data from primary sources (research reports, funeral books, archives) and secondary sources (academic articles, books). The document analysis was conducted within the socio-cultural context of Bangkok from the 1930s (B.E. 2470s) onward, using Michel Serres’ concepts of “mingling body” and “global intuition.” The findings reveal that the agency of the rose arises from its status as a “quasi-object” that has inspired rose growers, rose-growing communities, and economic activities worldwide. By restoring the state of mingling body—which refers to the body's receptivity to the external world—humans can engage in global intuition as an alternative way of perceiving and understanding the world. This may open up space for peaceful coexistence between humans and other living beings. The article proposes viewing rose gardening as a hobby and a form of practice aimed at “returning to the world in a time of uncertainty,” by acknowledging that both humans and plants possess agency.
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