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phenomenalism

[ fi-nom-uh-nl-iz-uhm ]

noun

, Philosophy.
  1. the doctrine that phenomena are the only objects of knowledge or the only form of reality.
  2. the view that all things, including human beings, consist simply of the aggregate of their observable, sensory qualities.


phenomenalism

/ fɪˈnɒmɪnəˌlɪzəm /

noun

  1. philosophy the doctrine that statements about physical objects and the external world can be analysed in terms of possible or actual experiences, and that entities, such as physical objects, are only mental constructions out of phenomenal appearances Compare idealism realism
“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


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Derived Forms

  • pheˈnomenalist, nounadjective
  • pheˌnomenalˈistically, adverb
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Other Words From

  • phe·nome·nal·ist noun
  • phe·nome·nal·istic adjective
  • phe·nome·nal·isti·cal·ly adverb
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Word History and Origins

Origin of phenomenalism1

First recorded in 1860–65; phenomenal + -ism
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Example Sentences

In other words, is Kants position subjectivism or phenomenalism?

The proper names for these opposite conceptions are of course Noumenalism and Phenomenalism.

In so far as subjectivism reduces reality to states of knowledge, such as perceptions or ideas, it is phenomenalism.

Similarly a phenomenalism, like that of Hume, takes immediate presence to sense as the norm of being and knowledge.

But he differs both from Malebranche and from Hume in that he develops his phenomenalism on rationalist lines.

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