My own thoughts on the first thought

To start with, let’s explore some of the other various possibilities of that “first thought”:

1. Hunger:

Starfish get hungry too.  Are they thinking? Not as far as anyone knows.

2. Cold:

as in “Hey, I’m cold.”  Now this one is possible, because after this thought one might look for a warm place.  But rats do this too.  Now some people might argue that rats in fact do think – at least enough to work their way out of a maze. But hunger (see above) is enough of a motivator for that as well. 

 3.Heat:

as in “Whew!” But all animals seek shade, no higher thought required.

4.  Fear:

as in “Help, a tiger is after me! A saber-toothed tiger!”  Now this one, like the stampeding dinosaur we discussed earlier, is a definite possibility.  Fear is one of the great motivators of all time.  And I would probably vote for this one were it not for the fact that other animals get afraid and warn each other of impending problems as well.  Like parakeets.  Enough said.