noumenon

[noo-muh-non]

noun, plural nou·me·na [noo-muh-nuh] /ˈnu mə nə/.

the object, itself inaccessible to experience, to which a phenomenon is referred for the basis or cause of its sense content.

a thing in itself, as distinguished from a phenomenon or thing as it appears.

Kantianism. something that can be the object only of a purely intellectual, nonsensuous intuition.

Origin of noumenon

1790–1800; < Greek nooúmenon a thing being perceived, noun use of neuter of present participle passive of noeîn to perceive; akin to nous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for noumena

conscience, heart, life, stuff, intelligence, mind, vitality, intellect, thought, genius, courage, ego, feeling, spirit, personality, individuality, force, essence, bottom, bosom

Examples from the Web for noumena

Historical Examples of noumena

Aries Tottle's mode, in a word, was based on noumena; Hog's on phenomena.
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Does Mr. Mill really suppose that all noumena are self-existent?
The Philosophy of the Conditioned
H. L. Mansel
There is the world of appearance (phenomena), and there is the world of reality or substance (noumena).
Theism or Atheism
Chapman Cohen
We may begin with the passages in the chapter on phenomena and noumena.
A Commentary to Kant's 'Critique of Pure Reason'
Norman Kemp Smith
All noumena are there before we arrive at an understanding of them.
The Unthinking Destroyer
Roger Phillips

British Dictionary definitions for noumena

noumenon

noun plural -na (-nə)

(in the philosophy of Kant) a thing as it is in itself, not perceived or interpreted, incapable of being known, but only inferred from the nature of experienceCompare phenomenon (def. 3) See also thing-in-itself

the object of a purely intellectual intuition

Derived Formsnoumenal, adjectivenoumenalism, nounnoumenalist, noun, adjectivenoumenality, nounnoumenally, adverb

Word Origin for noumenon

C18: via German from Greek: thing being thought of, from noein to think, perceive; related to nous mind

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for noumena

noumenon

1796, "object of intellectual intuition" (opposed to a phenomenon), term introduced by Kant, from Greek noumenon "that which is perceived," neuter passive present participle of noein "to apprehend, perceive by the mind" (from noos "mind"). With passive suffix -menos.