In my layman's mind consciousness, at it's lowest level, is awareness, as mentioned in the article.

I think what humans have achieved is the next level which is "awareness" of our awareness. The ability to self-reflect. Perhaps it is even a form of "recursive consciousness" (?) And perhaps structured language is the secret sauce that makes this possible.

Without that next level I can't differentiate humans from other mammals.

This has caused me to ask: Is there a level above this? ie: Awareness of your awareness of your awareness. and... can humans achieve that next level with our current biological equipment?

:-)