noumenon means A thing as it is independent of any conceptualization or perception by the human mind, postulated by practical reason but existing in a condition which is in principle unknowable and unexperienceable. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 84 out of 100.
noumenon is pronounced /ˈnuːmənɒn/.
Why “noumenon” is a great word
NOUMENON — [Noun] A thing as it is in itself, independent of human perception or conceptualization, postulated by reason but fundamentally unknowable. From German Noumenon, from Ancient Greek νοούμενον (nooúmenon, "thing that is known"), neuter passive present participle of νοéω (noéō, "I perceive, I think"). Introduced into philosophical discourse in 1796 by Immanuel Kant. Unlike a "phenomenon"—the world as it appears, filtered through our senses—or the strictly ontological "thing-in-itself," the noumenon is the austere postulate of a reality that lies permanently beyond the gilded cage of appearance. It is the tree whose true form is lost behind the green you see, the unplayed sound of the violin in its case, the silent vibration of the bell before it is shaped by the ear—the permanent and melancholic horizon of human understanding, the eternal guest that never arrives at the senses' banquet.
Etymology
From German Noumenon, from Ancient Greek νοούμενον (nooúmenon, “thing that is known”), passive present participle of νοέω (noéō, “I know”).
noun
- A thing as it is independent of any conceptualization or perception by the human mind, postulated by practical reason but existing in a condition which is in principle unknowable and unexperienceable.“The final result of Kant's philosophy, expressed in the concisest terms, was the proposition, so humiliating to human cognition, but, at the same time, so fertile in consequences, that we can know only phenomena, or the outward appearances of things, but not the noumenon, or the thing in itself.”