Anoetic

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˌænəʊˈɛtɪk/

Definitions

1. Relating to pure sensation or feeling without conscious awareness or intellectual processing
2. Lacking conscious thought or cognitive awareness while experiencing sensations or emotions
3. Existing in a state of sensation without accompanying conscious reflection or mental content

Etymology: The Greek roots are "noos," meaning mind, and "noein," to perceive or think. Adding the prefix "a-," meaning "not," gave "anoētos," which described something senseless or unthinking. The English term is a modern scientific formation built from those parts rather than a word that passed down through speech. It was taken up by the psychologist Endel Tulving, who used it in memory research for a kind of awareness that registers an experience without reflective thought about it. Tulving set it alongside "noetic," which involves knowing, and "autonoetic," which involves being aware of oneself across time. Together these terms describe levels of consciousness, with the anoetic at the most basic end.