Hidden Life of Trees (Wohlleben) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to start a discussion for The Hidden Life of Trees…then take off on your own:

1. What struck you most—what did you find most interesting or surprising—in reading about the secret life of trees?

2. Talk about the ways trees form communities underground via the "woodwide web." Explain what Peter Wohlleben means when he talks about how "social" trees are.

3. Describe the parental behavior of trees…and the "childish" behavior of their offspring.

4. Do you think that Wohlleben over anthropomorphizes trees in his book—that he makes them, perhaps, too human? Or is that question in and of itself a reflection of our own anthropocentric attitudes that hinder any acceptance of other forms of "being."

5. (Follow-up to Question 4): Are trees "beings"? Actually, maybe start with a definition of the word being. What does Wohlleben think? What do you think?

6. (Follow-up to Question 4): How much of what Wohlleben writes about in The Hidden Life of Trees is based on scientific research?
 
(Questions issued by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution.)

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