Sentience is the capacity to be aware of feelings and sensations. The word was first coined by philosophers in the 1630s for the concept of an ability to feel, derived from Latin "sentientem" (a feeling), to distinguish it from the ability to think ("reason"). In modern Western philosophy, sentience is the ability to experience sensations. In different Asian religions, the word 'sentience' has been used to translate a variety of concepts. In science fiction, the word 'sentience' is sometimes used interchangeably with 'sapience', 'self-awareness', or 'consciousness'.