“The question of self-awareness is highly philosophical, IMO.”
__________________________________________
I believe animals are self-aware at such a level that we don’t even begin to comprehend.
In the Bible (gasp!) Eve spoke with the creature who tempted her to take a bit of the Forbidden Fruit.
Neither she, Adam, nor God were shocked that the creature could speak. And as Eve, Adam, nor God displayed shocked that they could actually understand the creature. That implies the creatures were already on a level that required self-awareness.
Over time, due to the gradual degradation of the entire system, I believe we lost the ability to communicate with animals. As such, we no longer can tell they are able to communicate with each other and/or the how they can communicate with each other.
So we, as the higher life form, naturally (insert pun) assumed that we many life forms are not self-aware.
I truly believe we’re all going to be in for a shock come one day when we find out just how smart the Lord’s creatures truly are.....
I raise tropical fish. It is perfectly clear that fish are intuitive creatures. In a tank full of fish the one I am trying to take out will always hide. The rest, not so much.