252 PSYCHOLOGY. 



OBSERVATIONS ON PSYCHOLOGY. 

 On Consciousness. 



What is meant by ' consciousness ' is, an impression of the mind of 

 our own existence at the time, or rather of the existence of the mind 

 and of its actions : for, I say " I am conscious that I exist ;" which 

 can be only in thought ; for, that I exist in body, can only influence 

 the mind by its being sensible of the presence [of the body], as it may 

 be of any other body ; for, although it feels its own body, and is con- 

 scious of it, it can also be made sensible of another body and is con- 

 scious of that also ; therefore both [acts of consciousness] refer to the 

 mind. 



We can remember our being conscious of such and such things ; for, 

 we also say, that " I am conscious I did think ;" that is, I have a clear 

 conception that I did think. We also recollect what we thought about, 

 and how. I say, " I thought honestly, and therefore acted accord- 

 ingly ;" but without a proof or sensation of it ; for consciousness in the 

 mind is totally different from sensation. 



Therefore, when a man is conscious of a thing, he cannot be said to 

 be sensible of it ; for an act of the mind is not sensation. Conscious- 

 ness is an act or impression of the mind which it cannot deny. 



A man's feelings of himself, or consciousness of his body, is not sen- 

 sation ; for, when I was ill, my own feelings of myself, with regard to 

 size, was [that I was] only two feet high, while the sensitive or the 

 reasoning principle told me I was as tall as usual. 



Consciousness is a conviction of the existence of one's self, or it is a 

 feeling of itself, but is not sensation ; it is the reflection on one's own 

 existence, both as to personal existence and the existence of the mind. 



Being conscious of a thing, is the strongest impression that can be 

 formed on the mind ; it is the act of the full powers of the mind, and 

 is that which lasts, or constitutes memory. We often think of an act, 

 and set about it, but in part forget it ; and we go on with the act 

 without being conscious of it ; and if no circumstance or effect tells us 

 that we have done it, we do not know that we have done it. A man 

 shall remember to wind up his watch, and shall set about it ; but 

 another thought shall interfere; yet he shall go on winding up the 

 watch, put it into his pocket, and immediately shall ask himself whether 

 he wound it up or not; he only remembers his having thought of it. 



If he was to think of taking off his shoes, and another idea should 

 come into his mind, but he still should go on taking them off, he 

 would not need to think whether they were off or not, for he would 

 immediately find them off as soon as he thought about it. 



