Noumenon

as 'that which is known'

Morphological analysis

• Etymon: The word noumenon derives from Ancient Greek νοούμενον (nooúmenon) meaning 'that which is known'.
• Morpheme breakdown: νοού.μενον (nooú.menon) from νοέω- (noéō), meaning 'to know' + the suffix -μενον (-menon), meaning 'that which is' => 'that which is known'.

Essential definition

Noumenon: 'that which is known'

Semantic context

• Conventional sense: In Kantian philosophy, a noumenon refers to a thing as it is in itself, independent of human perception or sensory experience. (Note: Semantic drift from essential meaning)
• Essential meaning (my usage): 'that which is known'

Philosophical significance

Restoring 'noumenon' to 'that which is known' transforms it from an unreachable metaphysical postulate into a cornerstone for analyzing how knowledge is constituted, shared, and believed within human communities. Ultimately, it reframes one of philosophy’s most skeptical concepts into a positive tool for examining the very fabric of social and historical knowledge.

Usage in this lexicon

When I use the word noumenon in my work, I mean exactly 'that which is known'. This definition:

• resolves the paradoxical status of an unknowable thing-in-itself by making the concept epistemically accessible;
• shifts the term from a speculative metaphysical limit to a functional component in theories of knowledge and communication;
• provides a clearer, more direct contrast with 'phenomenon' by opposing 'what is known' (noumenon) to 'what is shown' (phenomenon);
• enables the term to be used productively in social epistemology, where shared knowledge and testimony are primary objects of study;
• removes the inherent skepticism and agnosticism from the concept, allowing for positive analysis of belief systems and cultural knowledge;
• aligns better with modern cognitive and information sciences, which treat knowledge as a processed and transmitted commodity;
• reclaims the term's etymological meaning, increasing clarity and reducing centuries of accumulated interpretive ambiguity;
• facilitates interdisciplinary dialogue by offering a non-specialist, intuitive understanding based on the common meaning of 'to know';
• strengthens analyses of consciousness by distinguishing between the content of awareness (known things) and the process of experiencing; and
• allows the concept to be integrated into practical knowledge-representation systems without metaphysical baggage.

Related terms

• Phenomenon

Sources

• Wiktionary

*This definition follows morphological essentialism principles. See the Methodology for details.