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Webster 1913 Edition


Consciousness

Con′scious-ness

,
Noun.
1.
The state of being conscious; knowledge of one’s own existence, condition, sensations, mental operations, acts, etc.
Consciousness
is thus, on the one hand, the recognition by the mind or “ego” of its acts and affections; – in other words, the self-affirmation that certain modifications are known by me, and that these modifications are mine.
Sir W. Hamilton.
2.
Immediate knowledge or perception of the presence of any object, state, or sensation. See the Note under
Attention
.
Annihilate the
consciousness
of the object, you annihilate the
consciousness
of the operation.
Sir W. Hamilton.
And, when the steam
Which overflowed the soul had passed away,
A
consciousness
remained that it had left.
. . . images and precious thoughts
That shall not die, and can not be destroyed.
Wordsworth.
The
consciousness
of wrong brought with it the
consciousness
of weakness.
Froude.
3.
Feeling, persuasion, or expectation; esp., inward sense of guilt or innocence.
[R.]
An honest mind is not in the power of a dishonest: to break its peace there must be some guilt or
consciousness
.
Pope.

Webster 1828 Edition


Consciousness

CONSCIOUSNESS

,
Noun.
1.
The knowledge of sensations and mental operations, or of what passes in ones own mind; the act of the mind which makes known an internal object.
Consciousness of our sensation, and consciousness of our existence, seem to be simultaneous.
Consciousness must be an essential attribute of spirit.
2.
Internal sense or knowledge of guilt or innocence.
A man may betray his consciousness of guilt by his countenance.
3.
Certain knowledge from observation or experience.

Definition 2024


consciousness

consciousness

English

Noun

consciousness (countable and uncountable, plural consciousnesses)

  1. The state of being conscious or aware; awareness.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 5, in The Celebrity:
      Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness, the consciousness dawning upon him that his eccentricity was not receiving the ovation it merited.
    • 2013 August 3, The machine of a new soul”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:
      Yet this is the level of organisation that does the actual thinking—and is, presumably, the seat of consciousness.

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