I believe that when life first started it had no need for interaction or competition, only adapted to use the environment in more ways, these were achieved through random genetic differences.
As life got to the point where there were different enough for competition (amount of it and its differences) the environment supplied options by it own variety or resourses, and life became even more diverse in its use of it. Sense organs then were dependent on chemical reactions, radiation, temperature, they have adapted well.
So of course it would have to be that there had to be something to be percieved before the sense organs were developed to react to it. These things happen oh so slowly, they are happening now, you are part of it, a link in the chain of change of life. Isn`t that nice to know?