But we are different. We are the species sapiens, the only surviving member of the genus Homo. The survival of our own species is our prerogative, whether or not you add all the baggage that consciousness brings.
We aren't 'better' but from a selfish and evolutionary point of view we are the 'most important'
The problem is that we don't think that way. The concept of an inner spark arises when we work backwards from our self awareness and try to account for all our feelings based on our biological selves and awareness of our surroundings. Then we come up short and say 'ahhh, the secret ingredient'. The truth is that those feelings are a by product of an evolved strategy for survival that involves consciousness. That sense of self essentially dies every night when we go to sleep and is resurrected for the purpose of helping this biological entity navigate the struggles of existing in a hostile environment. That inkling of being more than the sum of our parts is spare change, its the leftover pastry we leave in the fridge because we don't know what to do with it, and where it eventually grows varied and interesting moulds - art, religion, economics, architecture, music. We look at the mould and say 'see? how wonderful... aren't we stupendously clever? aren't we special?'.
