A case for aneural cognition: E. coli and its cognitive repertoire

No consensus exists on how to define cognition. One source of contention is the attribution of cognition to aneural organisms. The claim that aneural organisms are cognitive stems from existing definitions in the cognitive literature and from the recognition that these organisms possess similar processes to those found in cognitive animals. The most conspicuous feature of cognition is that it is a collection of processes: perception, memory, decision-making, problem-solving, and so on. It has been shown that aneural groups, from bacteria to single-celled eukaryotes to plants and fungi, possess a rich machinery to implement these processes. Despite that, many researchers still dispute the idea of aneural cognition. They claim that their processes are too limited, that finding a bunch of processes in aneural organism does not suffice to make them cognitive, or that cognition needs specific requirements, which often involve high-level processes. We challenge these criticisms through an analysis of E. coli. We gather evidence for the existence of a rich cognitive repertoire in this organism, showcasing how a simple bacterium is capable of realizing multiple components of cognition. E. coli has an extensive molecular machinery that implements the various components deemed necessary for cognition. By analyzing E. coli, we can also capture an essential aspect of cognition's nature: cognition is a global process that emerges through the interdependent orchestration of its components, which enables an organism to grasp aspects of its world. As such, it represents a fundamental biological process for every cellular-based organism.