epiphaenomenon

Noun

epiphenomenon (plural epiphenomena or (nonstandard) epiphenomenons)

1. An activity, process, or state that is the result of another; a by-product, a consequence.
   • Yet I would suggest that philosophical and even medical curiosity are only epiphenomenons of another condition that brought deafness to cultural attention.1997, Lennard J. Davis, “Universalizing Marginality: How Europe Became Deaf in the Eighteenth Century”, in Lennard J. Davis, editor, The Disability Studies Reader, New York, N.Y.; London: Routledge...

   Synonyms:

   by-product, unintended consequence, side effect

2. A mental process or state that is an incidental by-product of physiological events in the brain or nervous system.
   • It is a necessary corollary of the view here advanced that in instinct as such consciousness is a mere epiphenomenon—a by-product, with no bearing whatever on the performance of the activity in so far as it is instinctive.1894, C[onwy] Lloyd Morgan, “Instinct and Intelligence”, in Havelock Ellis, editor, An Introduction to Comparative Psychology (The Contemporary Science Series), London: Walter Scott, […], →OCLC, page...
3. A symptom that develops during the course of a disease that is not connected to the disease.
   • EPIPHÆNOMENA, […] Signs in Diſeaſes which appear afterwards.[1721, N[athan] Bailey, “EPIPHÆNOMENA”, in An Universal Etymological English Dictionary: […], London: […] E. Bell, J. Darby, […], →OCLC, column 2