Final answer:
Sentience is the capacity to feel or perceive, while consciousness is the overall experience of internal and external awareness, including emotions and thoughts.
Step-by-step explanation:
The differences between sentience, consciousness, and awareness are nuanced and significant within the philosophical discourse. Sentience refers to the capacity to feel or perceive, which may not necessarily include a reflective understanding of those experiences. Consciousness, on the other hand, encompasses our awareness of internal and external stimuli, including thoughts, feelings, and perceptions. It represents the entire scope of our subjective experiences, from pain and hunger to the understanding of complex problems. Within consciousness, different states exist, such as wakefulness, sleep, and altered states induced by substances or meditation.
Awareness can be considered a component of consciousness that deals specifically with the recognition and perception of stimuli, both internally and externally. It is the aspect of consciousness that allows us to note the changes in our environment and within ourselves. However, awareness doesn't necessarily imply the higher-level reflective thought often associated with consciousness. Therefore, while all conscious beings are sentient and aware, the reverse may not be true for all sentient beings.