The paper explores the two parallel visual mechanisms in primates: an ambient mechanism for perceiving the large-scale spatial environment and a focal mechanism for detailed inspection of specific areas. The ambient mechanism, involving the midbrain, projects a detailed topography of body-centered behavioral space from the eye to the midbrain, integrating with the bisymmetrical motor system to align visual locations with movement goals. The focal mechanism, more recent in phylogenetic terms, focuses on central behavioral space and specific actions, with the fovea, parafovea, and cortical visual areas playing key roles in detailed inspection. Anatomy and brain surgery in primates suggest that the midbrain plays a role in ambient space perception, while the focal mechanism is more complex and involves higher cortical regions. The interplay between these two mechanisms characterizes vision in active animals, with the complexity of focal vision evident at all levels of the visual system and in motor systems that orient and control actions directed at specific visual objects.The paper explores the two parallel visual mechanisms in primates: an ambient mechanism for perceiving the large-scale spatial environment and a focal mechanism for detailed inspection of specific areas. The ambient mechanism, involving the midbrain, projects a detailed topography of body-centered behavioral space from the eye to the midbrain, integrating with the bisymmetrical motor system to align visual locations with movement goals. The focal mechanism, more recent in phylogenetic terms, focuses on central behavioral space and specific actions, with the fovea, parafovea, and cortical visual areas playing key roles in detailed inspection. Anatomy and brain surgery in primates suggest that the midbrain plays a role in ambient space perception, while the focal mechanism is more complex and involves higher cortical regions. The interplay between these two mechanisms characterizes vision in active animals, with the complexity of focal vision evident at all levels of the visual system and in motor systems that orient and control actions directed at specific visual objects.