apperception

Definition

The mind's perception of itself as the subject or actor in its own states, unifying past and present experiences; self-consciousness, perception that reflects upon itself.

Etymology

Borrowed from French aperception (New Latin apperceptiō, used by Gottfried Leibnitz (1646–1716)).

Example Sentences

• "Conception is... the simplest act of thinking; it is the apprehension of the universal, as perception is the apperception of the particular."
• "For as she smiled I was gifted a glimpse past the apperception of an anonymous spherical quantity of human flesh; and into the individual."