phenomenon

(fĭ-nŏm'ə-nŏn', -nən)

1. An occurrence, circumstance, or fact that is perceptible by the senses.
2. pl., -nons.
   1. An unusual, significant, or unaccountable fact or occurrence; a marvel.
   2. A remarkable or outstanding person; a paragon. See synonyms at wonder.
3. Philosophy. In the philosophy of Kant, an object as it is perceived by the senses, as opposed to a noumenon.
4. Physics. An observable event.

[Late Latin phaenomenon, from Greek phainomenon, from neuter present participle of phainesthai, to appear.]

USAGE NOTE   Phenomenon is the only singular form of this noun; phenomena is the usual plural. Phenomenons may also be used as the plural in nonscientific writing when the meaning is "extraordinary things, occurrences, or persons": They were phenomenons in the history of music.

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noun

1. Something having real, demonstrable existence: actuality, event, fact, reality. See real/imaginary.
2. One that evokes great surprise and admiration: astonishment, marvel, miracle, prodigy, sensation, stunner, wonder, wonderment. Idioms: one for the books, the eighth wonder of the world. See good/bad.

Definition: rare occurrence; wonder
Antonyms: normality, regularity

Something that is shown, or revealed, or manifest in experience. In Kantian metaphysics the phenomena are objects and events as they appear in our experience, as opposed to objects and events as they are in themselves (noumena). It is central to Kant's thought that the former are shaped by the nature of our cognitive faculties: it is because of us that things appear extended in space and time and causally connected. More generally, the phenomenal aspects of things are the aspects that show themselves, rather than the theoretical aspects that are inferred or posited in order to account for them. To ‘save the phenomena’ is to theorize in a way that does justice to the phenomenal aspects of a subject-matter: philosophers frequently charge each other with giving over-simple theories of things, that ride roughshod over one or another aspect of the phenomena. See also phenomenology.

Anything capable of being perceived by human senses.

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Pl. phenomena [Gr.] any observable occurrence or fact of which the cause is not immediately evident. In veterinary science usually relates to laboratory findings but can relate to clinical signs. Typical examples are berry–dedrick phenomenon, camp phenomenon, koch phenomenon, rickettsial interference phenomenon, satellitism, swarming (1).

• Notions, Ideas, and Methods - phenomena: objects and events known through sensory experience

"Phenomena" redirects here. For other uses, see Phenomena (disambiguation).

A phenomenon (from Greek φαινόμενoν), plural phenomena, is any observable occurrence.^[1] Phenomena are often, but not always, understood as 'appearances' or 'experiences'. These are themselves sometimes understood as involving qualia.

The term came into its modern philosophical usage through Immanuel Kant, who contrasted it with noumenon (for which he used the term Ding an sich, or "thing-in-itself"), which, in contrast to phenomena, are not directly accessible to observation. Kant was heavily influenced by Leibniz in this part of his philosophy, in which phenomenon and noumenon serve as interrelated technical terms.

Cloud chamber phenomena. Scientists use phenomena to refine some hypotheses and sometimes to disprove a theory. See also Animated Version [1].

Contents 1 Scientific phenomena 2 Mechanical phenomena 3 Gem phenomena 4 Popular phenomena 5 Group and social phenomena 6 See also 7 References

Scientific phenomena

A comparison between a candle flame on Earth (left) and in a microgravity environment, such as that found on the ISS (right). The same phenomenon is observed as appearing differently.

The combustion of a match is an observable occurrence, or event, and therefore a phenomenon.

In scientific usage, a phenomenon is any event that is observable, however common it might be, even if it requires the use of instrumentation to observe, record, or compile data concerning it. For example, in physics, a phenomenon may be a feature of matter, energy, or spacetime, such as Isaac Newton's observations of the moon's orbit and of gravity, or Galileo Galilei's observations of the motion of a pendulum.^[2]

Mechanical phenomena

A mechanical phenomenon is a physical phenomenon associated with the equilibrium or motion of objects.^[3]

Gem phenomena

In gemology, a phenomenon is an unusual optical effect that is displayed by a gem. Play-of-color, labradorescence, iridescence, adularescence, chatoyancy, asterism, aventurescence, lustre and color change are all phenomena of this type.

Popular phenomena

This section requires expansion.

In popular usage, a phenomenon often refers to an extraordinary event.

Group and social phenomena

See also: Social phenomenon

Group phenomena concern the behavior of a particular group of individual entities, usually organisms and most especially people. The behavior of individuals often changes in a group setting in various ways, and a group may have its own behaviors not possible to an individual because of the herd mentality.

Social phenomena apply especially to organisms and people in that subjective states are implicit in the term. Attitudes and events particular to a group may have effects beyond the group, and either be adapted by the larger society, or seen as aberrant, being punished or shunned.

See also

• Atmospheric phenomena
• Natural phenomenon
• Paranormal phenomena
• List of Internet phenomena

References

Look up phenomenon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

1. ^ New Oxford American Dictionary (2nd ed.)
2. ^ Jeremy Bernstein, A Theory for Everything, Copernicus, An imprint of Springer-Verlag, New York, 1996, hardback, ISBN 0-387-94700-0
3. ^ audioenglish.net Mechanical phenomenon. Audioenglish.net, retrieved May 23, 2011

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Common misspelling(s) of phenomenon

• phenomonenon

Dansk (Danish)
n. - fænomen

Nederlands (Dutch)
fenomeen

Français (French)
n. - phénomène

Deutsch (German)
n. - Phänomen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - φαινόμενο, (καθομ.) (για ανθρώπους) φαινόμενο, τέρας

Italiano (Italian)
fenomeno

Português (Portuguese)
n. - fenômeno (m)

Русский (Russian)
феномен, явление

Español (Spanish)
n. - fenómeno

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - fenomen (sing.)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
现象, 非凡的人, 稀有的事, 奇迹

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 現象, 非凡的人, 稀有的事, 奇跡

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 현상, 사건, 비범한 인물

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 現象, 驚くべきこと

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) ظاهرة‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮תופעה, דבר לא רגיל, גאון, פנומן, דבר הנתפס ע"י החושים או השכל‬

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