Everything that is done by all species is a response to their environment wouldn't you say?
Nope.
Well, maybe in a philosophical sense but not in a practical sense.
I would divide responses from non-responses (to the environment) by whether or not it was a conscious decision.
When I flinch, its a response. When I decide to not eat the cheesecake even though I'm hungry, its not a response to the environment. That's because I've made a conscious decision. That one was particularly
against what my response to the environment would be.
In my opinion where the line can be drawn for intelligence, if we had to draw a line, is in the ability to learn from those you interact with, with the conscious awareness that its a benefit to you and that way its something you'd want to pass on to your child(I think its refered to as Memes).
That's not a bad place to draw it, I guess. Honestly though, its all conjecture (mine too). I would draw it after the awareness for the benefit and before the want to pass it on.
As a species gets smarter due to its ability to raise its consciousness, it gives rise to what we refer to as intelligence. In that respect nothing under primate and some domestic animals seem to have this capacity; the capacity to learn with the intent to progress as a whole.
Whales and Dolphins. Elephants. Lions.
In fact it could be argued that nothing under humans actually have full use of this ability.
I used to think that but I now believe that non-human animals do have
non-zero levels of intelligence. Our's is so exponentially higher that there's seems like zero, but they ehibit some characteristics of intelligence that I would put them at non-zero.
Oh wait. You said
full use. Hrm. Is our's even full use?
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