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Introduction In much of the animal kingdom, direct eye contact serves as an unambiguous cue of threat or challenge. Wolves lock eyes to signal dominance; gorillas interpret a stare as a prelude to aggression; even domestic dogs may grow defensive under sustained visual engagement¹. To gaze intently, in this context, is to prepare for conflict, not connection. And yet, within human social structures, the inverse often holds true. Eye contact is celebrated as a gesture of sincerity, trust, even intimacy. We are taught to “look people in the eye” to demonstrate honesty, to engage fully. What accounts for this curious divergence? Is human eye contact a reversal of nature’s logic—or a transformation that reveals something deeper about the making of the self? This article explores the continuity between the primal function of vision and its philosophical rearticulations in modern thought. Drawing from evolutionary biology and continental philosophy—from Sartre’s intersubjective gaze to F...