# Actual Freedom – Definitions

# Definitions ## Noumenon; Noumenal; Noumenalism; Phenomenalism ## Numinous/Mysterium tremendum et fascinans Noumenon; Noumenal; Noumenalism: • noumenon: chiefly Kantian Philosophy: an object of purely intellectual intuition, devoid of all phenomenal attributes. • noumenal: chiefly Kantian Philosophy: of, pertaining to, or consisting of noumena (plural of noumenon); that can only be apprehended by intuition; not phenomenal. • noumenalism: the doctrine that knowledge can only be apprehended by intuition. ~ (Oxford Dictionary). Phenomenalism: • phenomenalism (philosophy): the manner of thinking which considers things from the point of view of phenomena only; the metaphysical doctrine that (actual or possible) phenomena are the only objects of knowledge, or the only realities.~ (Oxford Dictionary). Numinous: Numinous (from the Classical Latin numen) is an English adjective describing the power or presence of a divinity. The word was popularised in the early twentieth century by the German theologian Rudolf Otto in his influential book ‘Das Heilige’ (1917; translated into English as ‘The Idea of the Holy’, 1923). According to Otto the numinous experience has two aspects: mysterium tremendum, which is the tendency to invoke fear and trembling; and mysterium fascinans, the tendency to attract, fascinate and compel. The numinous experience also has a personal quality to it, in that the person feels to be in communion with a Holy other. The numinous experience can lead in different cases to belief in deities, the supernatural, the sacred, the holy, and the transcendent. ~ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numinous). Mysterium Tremendum et Fascinans: Mysterium tremendum et fascinans (‘fearful and fascinating mystery’) is a Latin phrase which Rudolf Otto uses in ‘The Idea of the Holy’ to name the awesome (fascinating and full of awe) mystery that was the object common to all forms of religious experience. Mysterium tremendum is described in ‘The Doors of Perception’ by Aldous Huxley in the following terms: “The literature of religious experience abounds in references to the pains and terrors overwhelming those who have come, too suddenly, face to face with some manifestation of the mysterium tremendum. In theological language, this fear is due to the incompatibility between man’s egotism and the divine purity, between man’s self-aggravated separateness and the infinity of God”. ‘Nostalgia for paradise’ was a term also used by Mircea Eliade to help bring understanding to the numinous. This idea was based on the theory that a person has a sort of longing for perfection or paradise, which creates a platform for experience of the numinous. [...]. The idea is not necessarily a religious one: noted atheists Carl Sagan, Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett, Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris have discussed the importance of separating the numinous from the supernatural. ~ [www.dictionary30.com/encyclopedia.php?subject=Numinous]. RETURN TO DEFINITIONS INDEX RICHARD’S HOME PAGE The Third Alternative (Peace On Earth In This Life Time As This Flesh And Blood Body) Here is an actual freedom from the Human Condition, surpassing Spiritual Enlightenment and any other Altered State Of Consciousness, and challenging all philosophy, psychiatry, metaphysics (including quantum physics with its mystic cosmogony), anthropology, sociology ... and any religion along with its paranormal theology. Discarding all of the beliefs that have held humankind in thralldom for aeons, the way has now been discovered that cuts through the ‘Tried and True’ and enables anyone to be, for the first time, a fully free and autonomous individual living in utter peace and tranquillity, beholden to no-one. Richard's Text ©The Actual Freedom Trust: 1997- . All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer and Use Restrictions and Guarantee of Authenticity