>>36 I find it hard to believe that they don't have some form of consciousness. This might just be pure sophistry, but when I look into an animal's eyes, I see always see something looking back at me. Curiosity, fear, worry, I'd say that most of the feelings that animals have are negative ones, especially wild animals, but that doesn't dilute the fact that they have those feelings. A predator on the verge of starvation will go against instinct and desperately attack something they know they can't fight, just for a chance at a meal. A prey on the verge of death will still try to fatally wound the predator, making it a pyrrhic last meal. I don't think they view the world anywhere near us, with heightened levels of thought, but they are present in the world and conscious, that's what I believe.

the problem with this question from a materialistic standpoint is we aren't fully sure how the consciousness came to be. like, the scientific community isn't sure how or why humans developed a conscious. my guess would be animals lack the sophisticated level of abstract thinking we do. consciousness requires awareness of one's self, their place in the world around them, and their needs/emotions in a way that animals lacking human intellect cant fully emulate.