Are we objectively speaking the equivalent of just slightly larger bacteria? I don't mean that to indicate a level of disgust for the human condition, but just how I guess small and unaware of the greater universe we actually are, yet our instincts tell us to keep moving forward like germs.

Is consciousness real or just an illusion and we're really as pathetic and mindless as the bacteria we watch? Are there greater beings observing us from a microscope right now?