Yes that is an interesting question. I have wondered that myself.

But we don't know which - if any - animals are actually conscious, let alone plants.

I don't know.

The viewpoint I have suggested in my article is that there are multiple consciousnesses, and they are somehow selecting reality from a range of choices. That _seems_ to be what recent experiments have told us is happening.

But who are these consciousnesses? I know that I am one - because I experience it. If you experience it, then you know that you are one too. But I _think_ that the only way that we know of to tell if another has consciousness is to ask them to describe what they have observed. If they can describe a consistent reality, then they must have selected a reality. I have not thought that through - winging it here...

What do you think?