Brain size in general does not correlate very closely with level of intelligence. Neanderthal man had a brain size of 1500 cubic centimeters, which is larger than the average brain of today, yet was probably not as intelligent.⁴⁰...Even today there are geniuses with brain volumes which are smaller than average as well as larger-brained individuals who are of lesser intelligence.

Evidence continues to increase that consciousness is primarily centered in the brain, although the entire nervous system of the body appears to be a participant in the process of conscious awareness.⁴¹

There is laboratory evidence which would even support the concept that the entire body is an instrument of consciousness. Other physiological systems besides the brain and nervous system are involved, and are more attuned to other aspects of awareness.⁴²

The recognition that there is a connection between various states of consciousness and variations in neurophysiological activity would support an expanded concept of awareness which contends that the entire organism is an expression of consciousness, and various components of an individual's total consciousness are located throughout the body.⁴³...If so this would be additional evidence to support the concept that other animals have consciousness also, albeit to a lesser degree. Jesuit paleontologist Teilhard de Chardin has even stated that, "Evolution is an ascent toward consciousness.".⁴⁴

As one continues to study the processes of evolution, it becomes apparent there is evidence leading to the conclusion that probably there is some degree of consciousness on a planetary level in all organisms, unless of course one concludes that consciousness is a threshold phenomenon.⁴⁵

Gordon G. Globus, of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California at Irvine, states that there is evidence of conscious activity as far down the scale of animal evolution as the metazoa. He finds indications of "selective attention" at these lower levels that foreshadows higher properties of consciousness.⁴⁶...He believes that any apparent absurdity in the consideration of assigning consciousness to lower life forms may simply be a reflection of human chauvinism.

The bacterium when stimulated has a limited number of possible behavioral responses. As the evolutionary ladder is climbed, the number of possible responses increases based on the level of complexity of the organism. Itzhak Bentov sees in nature a spectrum of realities based on the complexity of the organism.⁴⁷...There are no sharply defined boundaries for each organism's level of consciousness or its reality, but rather there is a continuum similar to the electromagnetic spectrum. He believes all matter in the universe, as it becomes constructed in increasingly complex forms, is moving up in levels of consciousness under the forces of evolution. Present-day nervous systems are capable of interacting with nature in more complex patterns that allow consciousness to increase.⁴⁸...He has stated, "Matter, being made of quanta of energy, is the vibrating, changing component of pure consciousness.".⁴⁹

I now have no lingering doubt that much of organic life, if not all, has both intelligence and consciousness of varying degrees. By this I am not suggesting that a chimpanzee will lounge under a shade tree and contemplate the existence or absence of a creator, but rather there now seems to be nearly irrefutable evidence that they are aware of their own existence and differentiate self from non-self. Other higher mammals also appear to manifest intelligence and consciousness. Although consciousness may be a threshold phenomenon, it very well might extend down the entire spectrum of life forms to even the simplest of organisms. It is conceivable that an amoeba may be aware of its immediate surrounding environment, even though not much more.

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