Do you think that we humans are the only ones who are self conscious?

Question

Have you heard true stories of how dolphins have saved shipwrecked and drowning humans

monkeys and even elephants who have taken care of human babies

Dogs who have saved their human friends from disaster

while these animals may not have the exact sense of self awareness we humans have what makes you think that they are not close to it?

Answer 1

What about KOKO the great ape who was the first to learn picture language on a peg board in the 1970's. She showed a remarkable degree of conceptual inventiveness like she when created new names for items by combining 2 or more symbols. An example of this is when she named a watermellon, water candy, by pointing at these symbols on a large board carried by the researcher. One day when the research team had arrived at her enclosure around 9 am, she with great excitement told the research team about a car accident earlier around 7am by pointing at a sequence of sysmbols on her board.
The great apes and Orangatans seem to have self reconition when they look in a mirror where monkeys don't. Some species of birds and other domesticated animals obviously have been slected by us through a form of domestication selection to have a similiar sense of self- conciousness, so you would see this reflected with dogs, cats, horses, pigs, etc.
Other animals like the great elephants of Africa pass their culture of life from one generation to the next, which involve great salt marches annually, and complex social networks and language structures which are not audible to our ears. Elephants are highly developed like whales or dolphins and they too seem to have decision making capabilities based on memory and recognition of each other, and a tremendous amount of other data that may be transmitted on different levels simutaneously. So to answer your question, no, I feel others animals may also have acertain degree of self conciousness.
Especially my dog Ruff who I miss very much.

Answer 2

Consciousness is part of life of all living creature either animals or plants. The actions mentioned hereby u are part of their nature and instinct. Human being have a higher concept of self-consciousness which regular and integrated.

Answer 3

I believe that animals are self-aware, at least some of them. I also believe that they have emotions and are conscious beings who think, even the ones who are not "self-aware". I agree with you 100%.

Answer 4

No.

You could expand your consciousness even more to include the thought 'we are not the only ones'.

We are but a speck in the milky way let alone the great universe!

Answer 5

I think humans are the only species that have self awareness.

Answer 6

I am saying here, only the human with functional brain has self-concious....animal has instinct..

How did you ever confused that?

Answer 7

I think that everything with a heart is capable of love , insects though ,still have me puzzeled ....

Answer 8

By using the word "we" (we human), you are trying to include yourself in humans, so clever!.

You are former human and free stinker.

Answer 9

I love your question! Very cool!
Thanks for asking.

I agree with you.