Question

In: Psychology

The notions of noumena and phenomena

 Phenomenalism is the act of mediating between idealism and dualism. According to Immanuel Kant, scientific revolution ideas significantly impact life and western civilization. The German philosopher argues in philosophical terms that the concept of idealism which had vigorously championed by Plato many years ago, had been widely ignored by humanity due to his love affair for science. 

Solutions

Expert Solution

Kant's theory of perception illustrates the efforts towards restoring the balance between scientific claims and reasons, commonly referred to as phenomenalism. This essay seeks to analyze and describe various notions of noumena and phenomena in the light of Kant's theory of phenomenalism.  According to Kantian philosophy, noumenon is usually identified and attributed to "the thing-in-itself, "which remains anonymous. Phenomena are defined as observable facts, situations, or events in reality. Phenomena refer to objects with senses such as sights and sounds compared to what scholars seize.      

Example

  To illustrate notions of phenomena and noumena, I consider using an example of a hot electric toaster. From this particular example, we tend to invoke the underlying cause of electric currents. Therefore, the toaster, wires, and heat can be described as phenomena while electric current flow through the toaster is noumenon. The container is another example that can illustrate phenomena and noumena theories.

Explanation

From the above example, phenomena are observable (hot electric toaster) while noumena (electric current) is imagined. The reasons behind them, in ways, take us closer to the absolute truth.

Justification

Phenomena are the description of the manifestations that constitute our experiences, whereas noumena are the explanation of the presumed elements that make up reality. To distinguish between what is genuinely conceived in a thing and what is imagined, Kant used the noumena and phenomena categories. The theory of phenomenalism argues that there is no way to prove what a particular thing is out there by itself. All that thing appears is described as a phenomenon. The noumenon stimulates senses; however, the raw sensations ate translated into concepts by the mind. What is perceived as not the thing-in-itself (object) but on the phenomenon, which is the idea of the object produced by our mind. 

Critical analysis

A phenomenon is a philosophical concept that describes a particular object, fact,   and perceived occurrences that are observable. According to Immanuel Kant, there exist several external things; however, human beings do not perceive those things in the manner they should be in reality. Human beings do not perceive a thing –in its reality through what is termed as noumenon. Both Locke and Berkeley argue that phenomena theory does not provide adequate explanations on the issue of perception.

Different aspects of the theory

Immanuel Kant argues it is always important in differentiating various aspects of noumena and phenomena. Phenomena refer to the physical appearances or observable objects which constitute our broad experience, while noumena refer to (presumed) things or imagined items that include reality. Proponents of phenomenalism theory such as Immanuel Kant argued that external things exist. However, they do not perceive those objects as what they are in reality. In many cases, human beings do not perceive objects as they are; instead, they perceive them as they appear. Kant defines the concept of noumenon as "the thing-in-itself" and phenomena as "the thing-as-it appears."

Criticism and Conclusion

In conclusion, the phenomenon is a philosophical concept that describes a particular object, facts, and perceived occurrences that are observable. On the other hand, noumenon refers to an object or incident regardless of human observation and sense. In terms of criticism, phenomenalism faces several objections, especially on the content of knowledge mainly influenced by sense organs that are far from perfect. In addition, it does not provide us with the assurance that the same stimuli can activate people's senses. In this case, if everything we know is reduced to sensory stimuli, then we cannot know things as they are, and as a result, we cannot reasonably be sure of our perception.


Noumenon is a philosophical terminology that describes a given object or event that exists independently and is separate from human sense and perception. Immanuel Kant initially developed the concept of the noumenon to describe transcendental idealism. He argued that the noumenal world exists because it is not sensible and receptive, so it remains unknown.

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