Appearance or the way things appear before us.
The term phenomenon exists in opposition to noumenon – things as they are in themselves, no matter how they are presented to us or to any researcher.
Phenomenon and noumenon are technical terms for appearance and reality, respectively.
A phenomenon is also used to denote a particular type of phenomenon – one that requires explanation.
Related: Abduction
The German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724 – 1804) constructed the difference between phenomena and noumens as dualism.
Noumens, or things-in-themselves, are generally unknowable, so our knowledge is limited to manifestations or phenomena.
Charles S. Peirce denies this dualism, insisting that our acquaintance with the manifestations of things provides us with a more or less reliable basis for knowing things themselves.
