Life potentials can be used in many ways. That humans are the shape they are does not mean that extraterrestrial lifeforms should be the same. For example, feeding from tall branches is different in elephants and giraffes. Long prehensile noses and long necks are both valid solutions for the same problem. Evolution is generally considered a fact, but those who disagree point out the elements that are not yet understood.
Structures change, and find whatever use an entity can manage.
Evolution is not as simplified as some have made it. This sequence likely dates back long before the divergence of humans and chimpanzees. A famished cat can use complex communication strategies to let human stewards know what it wants from the immediate future. Consciousness is a continuum, not something absent in animals and present in humans. A large selection is possible.