I was hoping that someone else would point out the faulty nature of your logic. I guess I will.
No ape has every collectively realized, as a species, that it would be advantageous to stand upright. No species ever evolves collectively. It occurs first on an individual basis. And it does not occur through realizations by individuals within a species. It occurs through necessities introduced by the environment, and the ability of individuals to survive and thrive because they meet the necessities. When our ancestors were forced onto the savannah because of territory loss and dwindling forest cover, an environmental necessity was introduced. We couldn't see through the long grass on all fours. And our other senses weren't very good. We were evolved for our eyes, as treetop dwellers and insectivores/frugivores. Therefore, we could only rely on our eyes. Unfortunately, as I already mentioned, grass impeded our eyesight. So we stood, in order to see. Those who could stand longer could see longer. They could avoid predators more consistently, find food more consistently, and stay with the group easily. They did not "realize" that by standing they would be better off. They only reacted to the environment by trying to use their best sense. This eventually led to the evolution of full bipedalism, which gave us other advantages, such as our unmatched endurance. No other species can run for the length of time we can. Our ancestors ran down prey over a period of tens of hours. They would chase them, watch them run, see where they went (being able to see easily over the grass, and climb trees if necessary), then follow. Eventually, the prey would be too tired to run anymore, and we would literally "run them to the ground".
Evolution does not operate on a realizational basis.
This is not even semi-logical. Evolution does not work that way. Only memetical evolution can work that way, and, so far, only a very few animal species are known to evolve memetically. These include members from the ape species, the cetacean species, and the avian species.
Regardless of the faulty logic behind the opinions of most, they still do not have a physical consciousness, like us and others of our kind. They have no physical nervous system, nor do they have a need for it. What purpose would consciousness hold? Are they going to run from the predator they percieve with their consciousness?
This just opens up another question. We can't even prove that plants have awareness or consciousness on a physical level. Therefore your argument cannot stand.
I believe that they have a consciousness, but it is a spiritual consciousness, not one based on a physical nervous system.
