Full Idea
To be conscious that we are perceiving or thinking is to be conscious of our existence (for we have seen that existence is sensation or thought).
Gist of Idea
To perceive or think is to be conscious of our existence
Source
Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics [c.334 BCE], 1170a32)
Book Reference
Aristotle: 'Ethics (Nicomachean)', ed/tr. ThomsonJ A K/TredennickH [Penguin 1976], p.306
A Reaction
A lovely glimpse of Descartes' Cogito, which was made more explicit by Augustine. Is an animal (which presumably perceives) conscious of its existence?