Some concepts - noumenon

You certainly know the term "phenomenon."  This word refers to that which is observable.  There is a contrasting term, "noumenon."  Noumenon sometimes refers to that which is not observable.  Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804) used this term to mean the "thing-in-itself" (or in the German, Ding an sich).

Why is this important?  It is a fascinating and critical key to much of post-Enlightenment Western philosophy.  Jean-Paul Sartre (1905 - 1980), for example, rejected the idea of the noumenon.  So have others. Many in our own contemporary culture also reject this idea - dismissing it as something completely incompatible with our way of life.  My suspicion is that most physical scientists reject the idea - certainly in favor of "phenomenon" - that which can be observed.  I have heard it recently said, however, that perhaps noumenon was once historically manifest as phenomenon.  That historical event would of course be the life of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I may return to these words and ideas in time.


Portrait of Immanuel Kant, from Wikimedia Commons.