consciousness

/ˈkɑnʃəsnəs/

/ˈkɒntʃəsnəs/

Other forms: consciousnesses

When you are awake and aware of your surroundings, that's consciousness. There are different types of consciousness, including social consciousness, being aware of injustices in society.

The early Latin word conscius meant "with knowing," but it meant a shared knowledge, a meaning that was retained through the 16th Century. John Locke was the first to describe consciousness in relation to the individual, referring to it as “the perception of what passes in a man’s own mind." If you lose consciousness during the performance, we'll wake you up with some smelling salts!

Definitions of consciousness

1. noun

   an alert cognitive state in which you are aware of yourself and your situation
   “he lost consciousness”

   antonyms:

   unconsciousness

   a state lacking normal awareness of the self or environment

   types:

   stream of consciousness

   the continuous flow of ideas and feelings that constitute an individual's conscious experience

   ego, self

   your consciousness of your own identity

   awareness, sentience

   state of elementary or undifferentiated consciousness

   aesthesia, esthesia, sensibility

   mental responsiveness and awareness

   waking

   the state of remaining awake

   anima

   (Jungian psychology) the inner self (not the external persona) that is in touch with the unconscious

   wakefulness

   a periodic state during which you are conscious and aware of the world

   type of:

   cognitive state, state of mind

   the state of a person's cognitive processes
2. noun

   the state of having knowledge of
   “his sudden consciousness of the problem he faced”

   synonyms: awareness, cognisance, cognizance, knowingness

   types:

   self-awareness

   awareness of your own individuality

   feel

   an intuitive awareness

   sense

   a general conscious awareness

   bearing, orientation

   a person's awareness of self with regard to position and time and place and personal relationships

   self-consciousness

   self-awareness plus the additional realization that others are similarly aware of you

   sense of direction

   an awareness of your orientation in space

   sense of responsibility

   an awareness of your obligations

   type of:

   knowing

   a clear and certain mental apprehension