Valence, Mirror Self-Recognition, and the Gradualist Evolution of Consciousness
Philosophia March 1, 2026 DOI: 10.1007/s11406-026-00994-2 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Commentary Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | The author responds to three commentaries on his book on animal consciousness: he addresses Pober and Barrett and Fischer together on valence, common currencies of value, and consciousness, and separately addresses Kohda's concerns about his gradualist approach and Kohda's alternative thesis on the evolution of self-awareness. |
Abstract
It is my pleasure to respond to three thoughtful commentaries on A Philosophy for the Science of Animal Consciousness in this issue (Veit 2023a ). The commentaries by Pober ( 2025 ), as well as Barrett and Fischer ( 2025 ), both focus on the relationship between valence, common currencies of value, and consciousness, and so I will largely respond to their arguments together. Afterwards, I will respond to the commentary by Kohda ( 2025 ) which raises distinct concerns about my gradualist approach to consciousness and proposes an alternative thesis for understanding the evolution of self-awareness, drawing on his experimental work on mirror self-recognition in fish.
Citations in the library
Cites 7
- Conscious artificial intelligence and biological naturalism. Behavioral and Brain Sciences April 21, 2025
- Comparative Consciousness Research in Ecological Context: Elephants, Macaques, Plovers, and a Case Against Plant Consciousness Adaptive Behavior February 1, 2026
- On the Evolution, Science, and Metaphysics of Consciousness Adaptive Behavior December 27, 2025
- On the mirror test and the evolutionary origin of self-awareness in vertebrates. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences November 13, 2025
- The role of consciousness in adaptive behaviour: A philosophy for the science of animal consciousness Adaptive Behavior June 1, 2025
and 2 more in the library