Where are we now? Kyle Amon, Page 10 Phenomenalism n. Philos. 1. The doctrine, set forth esp. by David Hume, that percepts and concepts present in the mind constitute the sole object of knowledge, whereas the objects of perception, their origin outside the mind, and the nature of the mind remain forever beyond inquiry. Phenomenology n. Philos. 1. The study of all possible appearances in human experience, during which considerations of objective reality and of purely subjective response are temporarily left out of account. 2. A movement based on this study, originated about 1905 by Edmund Husserl.