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Conscious vision in fish

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 June 2026

Eva Jablonka Open the ORCID record for Eva Jablonka [Opens in a new window]  and
Avraham Englander
Eva Jablonka*
Affiliation:
The Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel jablonka@post.tau.ac.il romi.englander@gmail.com
Avraham Englander
Affiliation:
The Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel jablonka@post.tau.ac.il romi.englander@gmail.com
*
*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

We challenge Fleming and Michel’s arguments that aquatic animals do not have conscious vision. Focusing on fish, we suggest – on the basis of what we know about their cognition and evolution – that most fish are likely to have conscious vision, which evolved well before the transition to a largely terrestrial habitat. We end by clarifying the difference between our model-based, learning-driven view of the evolution of animal consciousness and Fleming and Michel’s view.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 49 , 2026 , e177
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press

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