What is a self? Do animals have them?

Question

What is a self? Do animals have them?

Answer 1

The word self seldom is used with " the" or "a".

Self is a figure of speech. Lots of things are said about the self, but always think of it as a metaphor. Nobody ever found the self.

So neither humans nor animals have a self.

But where one can speak about the self of a human, why not about the self of an animal?

Answer 2

there is self and then there is not self... although the deeper we go the more we see that the self is dependent on the not self... the lines start to get blurry... just keep it superficial and we're fine... even the inanimate have this so called "self" if only through relations...  

Answer 3

self is being individual, animals probably have one. A wolf can choose to leave a pack. right?

Answer 4

Self is just the individual.

Although this has some egotistical meanings created by humans, animals are individuals also, so they have a self.