Sentence:  [A]nd that one great and all-important occasion and provocative of these beliefs was actually the "rise of <WSD>self-consciousness</WSD>" — that is, the coming of the mind to a more or less distinct awareness of itself and of its own operation, and the consequent development and growth of Individualism, and of the Self-centred attitude in human thought and action. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The awareness of the self as an entity.