What is phenomenalism?

What Does phenomenalism Mean

The Phenomenalism is a theory and a stream of the philosophy which holds that objects can only be known as they are perceived . This means that it is impossible to know things as they are in themselves .

For phenomenalism, the human being only has access to phenomena : that is, to the manifestation of things in front of the senses. Behind the phenomenon is the noumenon , a structure that cannot be perceived directly but through reason.
Expressed in another way, we know phenomena according to how they "appear . " That is why phenomenalism, promoted by Immanuel Kant ( 1724 - 1804 ), is situated between empiricism and rationalism .

It is important to remember that empiricism claims that knowledge arises from experience, while rationalism postulates reason as the origin of knowledge. Phenomenalism, meanwhile, believes that both experience and reason allow obtaining knowledge.
Phenomenalism, in short, expresses that it is not possible to know things in themselves: what is known is the phenomenon . These phenomena "appear" in consciousness and are ordered and analyzed through reason and sensitivity.
It should be noted that phenomenalism recognizes the existence of real things. However, he assures that this real dimension is inaccessible to people , who only know through the phenomenon.
According to phenomenalism, the causes and substances of things are based on forms of understanding that are stimulated by sensations. These sensations go beyond the will .