cognition
noun
[ kɒɡˈnɪʃ(ə)n ]
• the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.
Similar:
perception,
discernment,
awareness,
apprehension,
learning,
understanding,
comprehension,
enlightenment,
insight,
intelligence,
reason,
reasoning,
thinking,
(conscious) thought,
Origin:
late Middle English: from Latin cognitio(- ), from cognoscere ‘get to know’.