There is a deep divide between people’s direct experiences and the standard understanding of vision as taught in biology and psychology. When the looker cannot be seen and other sensory cues are excluded, the sense of being stared at, also called scopaesthesia, is impossible from the conventional point of view. Yet it seems to happen. Here, we suggest that thinking again about this puzzle, instead of ignoring or denying it, could deepen our understanding of vision and stimulate fruitful research in the life and mind sciences. The evolution of brain processes that imply a movement of influences out of the eyes would make more sense if such influences actually occur than if they are an illusion. Could scopaesthesia actually happen? No, not if minds are inside heads. But what if minds are not confined to brains?.

AGM is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and RS by the Planet Heritage Foundation and the Watson family.

Peer reviewed