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Affordances are for life (and not just for maximizing reproductive fitness)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2026

Edward Baggs Open the ORCID record for Edward Baggs [Opens in a new window] ,
Guilherme Sanches de Oliveira Open the ORCID record for Guilherme Sanches de Oliveira [Opens in a new window] ,
Miguel Segundo-Ortin Open the ORCID record for Miguel Segundo-Ortin [Opens in a new window] ,
Paula Silva Open the ORCID record for Paula Silva [Opens in a new window] ,
Vicente Raja Open the ORCID record for Vicente Raja [Opens in a new window]  and
Anthony Chemero Open the ORCID record for Anthony Chemero [Opens in a new window]
Edward Baggs*
Affiliation:
Department of Culture and Language, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark ebag@sdu.dk Danish Institute for Advanced Study, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
Guilherme Sanches de Oliveira
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain guilherme.sanches@um.es miguel.segundo@um.es vicente.raja@um.es Minimal Intelligence Laboratory (MINT Lab), University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
Miguel Segundo-Ortin
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain guilherme.sanches@um.es miguel.segundo@um.es vicente.raja@um.es Minimal Intelligence Laboratory (MINT Lab), University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
Paula Silva
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA silvapa@ucmail.uc.edu chemeray@ucmail.uc.edu
Vicente Raja
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain guilherme.sanches@um.es miguel.segundo@um.es vicente.raja@um.es Minimal Intelligence Laboratory (MINT Lab), University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain The Rotman Institute of Philosophy, University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
Anthony Chemero
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA silvapa@ucmail.uc.edu chemeray@ucmail.uc.edu
*
*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

We are pleased to see the concept of affordances being given attention in the context of evolutionary theory. We are, however, surprised that the authors engage so little with existing work on affordances. We highlight some properties of affordances that the authors overlook: affordances are perceivable, are ubiquitous across the animal kingdom, are relative to individuals, and can be learned.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 49 , 2026 , e60
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press

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