For the movie, see Phenomenon (film) A phenomenon (Greek: φαινόμενoν, phainomenon, from the verb φαίνειν, phainein, “to show, shine, appear, to be manifest (or manifest itself)”), plural phenomena, is any observable occurrence. 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 the noumenon. In contrast to a phenomenon, a noumenon is 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.