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Consciousness facilitates model-based planning, but is that really why consciousness evolved?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 June 2026

Nicholas Shea
Nicholas Shea*
Affiliation:
Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London, London, UK nicholas.shea@sas.ac.uk
*
*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

The authors make a timely argument that the temporal profile of consciousness is an under-exploited constraint on theories of consciousness. However, the exact timing matters for the evolutionary hypothesis. A rival hypothesis is that in aquatic environments, it already had the function of representing distal objects, with a time-delay to consciousness in the 100–200ms range.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 49 , 2026 , e190
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press

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References

Coombs, S., & Trestman, M. (forthc). A multi-trait embodied framework for the evolution of brains and cognition across animal phyla. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1–52. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X24000335 Google Scholar