Self Awareness....Really

I offer "the fact that I am thinking" as proof that self awareness exists and I accept others claim that they are aware of themselves. By observing the behavior of other life forms, I am persuaded that many of them, such as insects, are aware of their existence and their surroundings.

I am not, on the other hand, persuaded that a piece of wire is aware even though it reacts to heat ...shrinking, bending, and changing in color at the encounter.

I am not convinced that plants are aware even though they bend and twist and sometimes seem to turn and look up at the sun.

But, I must confess that I cannot prove, beyond other explanation, that even a single life form, other than myself, is aware.

If you were to put me in box and grind me up, I would no longer be aware of my existence even though you would have all the same stuff in the box before and after my last experience.

So, how do you get from stuff that is not aware to stuff that is aware?

Ideas?- -Send a message to - - Bob Winchester