Overview

In recent years, epistemologists have begun to focus on “understanding” as a distinct and perhaps higher epistemic goal than knowledge. Understanding involves grasping connections, causes, and “why” things are the way they are.

Core Idea

The core idea is that you can know a fact without understanding it. Understanding requires seeing the “big picture” or the internal logic of a subject.

Formal Definition

Understanding is often defined as a cognitive state that involves grasping the explanatory or logical connections between pieces of information. It is often considered “factive” (you can’t understand something false), though this is debated.

Intuition

  • Knowledge: You memorize the formula $E=mc^2$. You know it is true.
  • Understanding: You grasp why energy and mass are equivalent, how the equation is derived, and what it implies for nuclear physics.
  • The House Fire: You know the house burned down (testimony). The fire marshal understands why (faulty wiring led to a spark, which ignited the curtain…).

Examples

  • Student vs. Expert: A student can recite the history dates (knowledge); the historian sees the causal web of economic and social forces (understanding).
  • Algorithm vs. Programmer: A computer “knows” the data, but does it “understand” the meaning?

Common Misconceptions

  • Misconception: Understanding is just “more knowledge.”
    • Correction: It is structurally different. It involves “grasping” relations, not just accumulating atomic facts.
  • Misconception: You can’t understand false theories.
    • Correction: Some argue you can “understand” Newtonian mechanics even though it is strictly false (it’s an approximation). This suggests understanding might not be fully factive like knowledge.
  • Wisdom: Often seen as the application of understanding to life.
  • Explanation: Understanding is the subjective state corresponding to an objective explanation.
  • Epistemic Value: Is understanding more valuable than knowledge? (The “Value Problem”).

Applications

  • Education: The goal of teaching should be understanding, not just rote memorization (knowledge).
  • Science Communication: Explaining science to the public requires fostering understanding, not just stating facts.

Criticism and Limitations

  • Elusiveness: “Grasping” is a metaphor. It is hard to define understanding precisely in logical terms.
  • Subjectivity: The “Aha!” feeling of understanding can sometimes be misleading (we think we understand when we don’t).

Further Reading

  • Understanding by Stephen Grimm
  • The Value of Knowledge and the Pursuit of Understanding by Jonathan Kvanvig
  • Varieties of Understanding by Catherine Elgin