Vagueness of memory may hide the days when consciousness and thought began. A few speculative remarks follow. Despite being written in the third person, the remarks represent this author's image of his own consciousness, thought and ability to know. An infant is born. His or her senses of touch, sight, sound, heat, smell and taste meet a new environment.
Coordination comes slowly.
First, external to the mind is a body. This body is sensitive to indigestion and other discomforts. Some maintenance is required. Here both the body and the environment external to it impinge on and react with the mind of the infant child. The boundaries of this body, the skin, especially on the fingers, along with the ears and the eyes provide sensations of the environment beyond the body.