[tomxor]

Perhaps i'm arguing semantics and this is what the author means but... in your primitive mind, you are able to recognise something even if you have no idea what it is, you can learn to recognise.

The ability to introspect and analyse what makes that thing unique or understand what it's purpose or origin is has everything to do with being sentient.

We might not know what exactly being sentient is but recognising an image is like lobotomising the brain to just be a visual cortex, it can match but the other networks that work in the abstract are not there.