thumb|upright|John Locke, a 17th-century British Age of Enlightenment philosopherThe origin of the modern concept of consciousness is often attributed to John Locke who defined the word in his Essay Concerning Human Understanding, published in 1690, as "the perception of what passes in a man's own mind". The essay strongly influenced 18th-century British philosophy, and Locke's definition appeared in Samuel Johnson's celebrated Dictionary (1755).
thumb|upright|John Locke, a 17th-century British Age of Enlightenment philosopherThe origin of the modern concept of consciousness is often attributed to John Locke who defined the word in his Essay Concerning Human Understandin.g, published in 1690, as "the perception of what passes in a man's own mind" The essay strongly influenced 18th-century British philosophy and Locke's definition appeared in Samuel Johnson's celebrated Dictionary (1755).