My guess is that animals are indeed conscious. However, without language they aren't capable of doing what human beings (embedded in culture) uniquely do: creating explanations for things.
It is a good guess - because they are conscious (each species in their own way, of course). But many animals - if not all - do have a language! They are even capable of lying to one another - the art that, incidentally, humans have brought to perfection (and it is indeed in creating explanations where this art finds it biggest use).
>But many animals - if not all - do have a language!
They do signal to each other. They even use symbolic representation (e.g. in the case of dancing bees). But they don't explain things to one another. If they did then I expect we'd find chimps working in translation agencies.
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[ 3.5 ms ] story [ 21.0 ms ] threadThey do signal to each other. They even use symbolic representation (e.g. in the case of dancing bees). But they don't explain things to one another. If they did then I expect we'd find chimps working in translation agencies.