Answer to My friend asked me- “Out of numerous species of the same ancestor throughout evolutionary history, how come only human beings turned out having such complex consciousness as we have today?” She believes our complex mind is a gift f… by Mridul Raj [quora.com]
I don't think that the basic assumption. "only human beings turned out having such complex consciousness " Is all that sound anyway. Depends a lot on how you define consciousness and complex, and if you can prove that a small difference in consciousness, magnified by tiny physical changes such as the shape of the larynx, are not enough to lead to the development of culture, and with that an apparent collective consciousness, which is a technical rather than genetic emergence.