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Understanding

January 01, 1970

This article is about the psychological process. For other uses, see Understanding (disambiguation).
"Understand" redirects here. For other uses, see Understand (disambiguation).

Understanding is a cognitive process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to use concepts to model that object. Understanding is a relation between the knower and an object of understanding. Understanding implies abilities and dispositions with respect to an object of knowledge that are sufficient to support intelligent behavior.[1]

Understanding is often, though not always, related to learning concepts, and sometimes also the theory or theories associated with those concepts. However, a person may have a good ability to predict the behavior of an object, animal or system—and therefore may, in some sense, understand it—without necessarily being familiar with the concepts or theories associated with that object, animal, or system in their culture. They may have developed their own distinct concepts and theories, which may be equivalent, better or worse than the recognized standard concepts and theories of their culture. Thus, understanding is correlated with the ability to make inferences.

Definition edit

Understanding and knowledge are both words without unified definitions. [2][3]

Ludwig Wittgenstein looked past a definition of knowledge or understanding and looked at how the words were used in natural language, identifying relevant features in context.[4] It has been suggested that knowledge alone has little value whereas knowing something in context is understanding,[5] which has much higher relative value but it has also been suggested that a state short of knowledge can be termed understanding.[6][7]

Someone's understanding can come from perceived causes [8] or non causal sources,[9] suggesting knowledge being a pillar of where understanding comes from.[10] We can have understanding while lacking corresponding knowledge and have knowledge while lacking the corresponding understanding.[11] Even with knowledge, relevant distinctions or correct conclusion about similar cases may not be made [12][13] suggesting more information about the context would be required, which eludes to different degrees of understanding depending on the context.[10] To understand something implies abilities and dispositions with respect to an object of knowledge that are sufficient to support intelligent behavior.[14]

Understanding could therefore be less demanding than knowledge, because it seems that someone can have understanding of a subject even though they might have been mistaken about that subject. But it is more demanding in that it requires that the internal connections among ones' beliefs actually be "seen" or "grasped" by the person doing the understanding when found at a deeper level.[10]

Explanatory realism and the propositional model suggests understanding comes from causal propositions [15] but, it has been argued that knowing how the cause might bring an effect is understanding.[16] As understanding is not directed towards a discrete proposition, but involves grasping relations of parts to other parts and perhaps the relations of part to wholes.[17] The relationships grasped help understanding, but the relationships are not always causal.[18] So understanding could therefore be expressed by knowledge of dependencies.[16]

As a model edit

Gregory Chaitin propounds a view that comprehension is a kind of data compression.[19] In his essay "The Limits of Reason", he argues that understanding something means being able to figure out a simple set of rules that explains it. For example, we understand why day and night exist because we have a simple model—the rotation of the earth—that explains a tremendous amount of data—changes in brightness, temperature, and atmospheric composition of the earth. We have compressed a large amount of information by using a simple model that predicts it. Similarly, we understand the number 0.33333... by thinking of it as one-third. The first way of representing the number requires five concepts ("0", "decimal point", "3", "infinity", "infinity of 3"); but the second way can produce all the data of the first representation, but uses only three concepts ("1", "division", "3"). Chaitin argues that comprehension is this ability to compress data. This perspective on comprehension forms the foundation of some models of intelligent agents, as in Nello Cristianini's book "The shortcut", where it is used to explain that machines can understand the world in fundamentally non-human ways.[20]

References edit

  1. ^ Bereiter, Carl. . Archived from the original on 2006-02-25.
  2. ^ Zagzebski, Linda (2017), "What is Knowledge?", The Blackwell Guide to Epistemology, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, pp. 92–116, doi:10.1002/9781405164863.ch3, ISBN 978-1-4051-6486-3, S2CID 158886670, retrieved 2021-11-28
  3. ^ Târziu, Gabriel (2021-04-01). "How Do We Obtain Understanding with the Help of Explanations?". Axiomathes. 31 (2): 173–197. doi:10.1007/s10516-020-09488-6. ISSN 1572-8390. S2CID 218947045.
  4. ^ Ludwig Wittgenstein, On Certainty, remark 42
  5. ^ Pritchard, Duncan (2008-08-12). "Knowing the Answer, Understanding and Epistemic Value". Grazer Philosophische Studien. 77 (1): 325–339. doi:10.1163/18756735-90000852. hdl:20.500.11820/522fbeba-15b2-46d0-8019-4647e795642c. ISSN 1875-6735.
  6. ^ Kvanvig, Jonathan L. (2003-08-21). The Value of Knowledge and the Pursuit of Understanding. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-44228-2.
  7. ^ Elgin, Catherine Z. (2017-09-29). True Enough. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-03653-5.
  8. ^ Lipton, Peter (2003-10-04). Inference to the Best Explanation. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-54827-9.
  9. ^ Kitcher, Philip (1985-11-01). "Two Approaches to Explanation". The Journal of Philosophy. 82 (11): 632–639. doi:10.2307/2026419. JSTOR 2026419.
  10. ^ a b c Grimm, Stephen R. (2014), Fairweather, Abrol (ed.), "Understanding as Knowledge of Causes", Virtue Epistemology Naturalized: Bridges Between Virtue Epistemology and Philosophy of Science, Synthese Library, vol. 366, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 329–345, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-04672-3_19, ISBN 978-3-319-04672-3
  11. ^ Pritchard, Duncan (2009). "Knowledge, Understanding and Epistemic Value". Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements. 64: 19–43. doi:10.1017/S1358246109000046. hdl:20.500.11820/0ef91ebb-b9f0-44e9-88d6-08afe5e96cc0. ISSN 1755-3555. S2CID 170647127.
  12. ^ Hills, Alison (2009-10-01). "Moral Testimony and Moral Epistemology". Ethics. 120 (1): 94–127. doi:10.1086/648610. ISSN 0014-1704. S2CID 144361023.
  13. ^ Hills, Alison (2010-04-29). The Beloved Self: Morality and the Challenge from Egoism. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-921330-6.
  14. ^ Bereiter, Carl (2005-04-11). Education and Mind in the Knowledge Age. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-64479-6.
  15. ^ Kim, Jaegwon (1994). "Explanatory Knowledge and Metaphysical Dependence". Philosophical Issues. 5: 51–69. doi:10.2307/1522873. ISSN 1533-6077. JSTOR 1522873.
  16. ^ a b Grimm, Stephen R. (2014), Fairweather, Abrol (ed.), "Understanding as Knowledge of Causes", Virtue Epistemology Naturalized: Bridges Between Virtue Epistemology and Philosophy of Science, Synthese Library, vol. 366, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 329–345, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-04672-3_19, ISBN 978-3-319-04672-3
  17. ^ Zagzebski, Linda (2008-07-08). On Epistemology. Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-0-534-25234-2.
  18. ^ Ruben, David-Hillel; Ruben, Director of New York University in London and Professor of Philosophy at the School of Oriental and African Studies David-Hillel (2003). Action and Its Explanation. Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0-19-823588-0.
  19. ^ Chaitin, Gregory (2006), (PDF), Scientific American, 294 (3): 74–81, Bibcode:2006SciAm.294c..74C, doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0306-74, PMID 16502614, archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04
  20. ^ Cristianini, Nello (2023). The shortcut: why intelligent machines do not think like us. Boca Raton. ISBN 978-1-003-33581-8. OCLC 1352480147.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

External links edit

 
Wikiquote has quotations related to Understanding.
 
Look up understanding in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

January 01, 1970
understanding, this, article, about, psychological, process, other, uses, disambiguation, understand, redirects, here, other, uses, understand, disambiguation, cognitive, process, related, abstract, physical, object, such, person, situation, message, whereby, . This article is about the psychological process For other uses see Understanding disambiguation Understand redirects here For other uses see Understand disambiguation Understanding is a cognitive process related to an abstract or physical object such as a person situation or message whereby one is able to use concepts to model that object Understanding is a relation between the knower and an object of understanding Understanding implies abilities and dispositions with respect to an object of knowledge that are sufficient to support intelligent behavior 1 Understanding is often though not always related to learning concepts and sometimes also the theory or theories associated with those concepts However a person may have a good ability to predict the behavior of an object animal or system and therefore may in some sense understand it without necessarily being familiar with the concepts or theories associated with that object animal or system in their culture They may have developed their own distinct concepts and theories which may be equivalent better or worse than the recognized standard concepts and theories of their culture Thus understanding is correlated with the ability to make inferences Contents 1 Definition 2 As a model 3 References 4 External linksDefinition editUnderstanding and knowledge are both words without unified definitions 2 3 Ludwig Wittgenstein looked past a definition of knowledge or understanding and looked at how the words were used in natural language identifying relevant features in context 4 It has been suggested that knowledge alone has little value whereas knowing something in context is understanding 5 which has much higher relative value but it has also been suggested that a state short of knowledge can be termed understanding 6 7 Someone s understanding can come from perceived causes 8 or non causal sources 9 suggesting knowledge being a pillar of where understanding comes from 10 We can have understanding while lacking corresponding knowledge and have knowledge while lacking the corresponding understanding 11 Even with knowledge relevant distinctions or correct conclusion about similar cases may not be made 12 13 suggesting more information about the context would be required which eludes to different degrees of understanding depending on the context 10 To understand something implies abilities and dispositions with respect to an object of knowledge that are sufficient to support intelligent behavior 14 Understanding could therefore be less demanding than knowledge because it seems that someone can have understanding of a subject even though they might have been mistaken about that subject But it is more demanding in that it requires that the internal connections among ones beliefs actually be seen or grasped by the person doing the understanding when found at a deeper level 10 Explanatory realism and the propositional model suggests understanding comes from causal propositions 15 but it has been argued that knowing how the cause might bring an effect is understanding 16 As understanding is not directed towards a discrete proposition but involves grasping relations of parts to other parts and perhaps the relations of part to wholes 17 The relationships grasped help understanding but the relationships are not always causal 18 So understanding could therefore be expressed by knowledge of dependencies 16 As a model editGregory Chaitin propounds a view that comprehension is a kind of data compression 19 In his essay The Limits of Reason he argues that understanding something means being able to figure out a simple set of rules that explains it For example we understand why day and night exist because we have a simple model the rotation of the earth that explains a tremendous amount of data changes in brightness temperature and atmospheric composition of the earth We have compressed a large amount of information by using a simple model that predicts it Similarly we understand the number 0 33333 by thinking of it as one third The first way of representing the number requires five concepts 0 decimal point 3 infinity infinity of 3 but the second way can produce all the data of the first representation but uses only three concepts 1 division 3 Chaitin argues that comprehension is this ability to compress data This perspective on comprehension forms the foundation of some models of intelligent agents as in Nello Cristianini s book The shortcut where it is used to explain that machines can understand the world in fundamentally non human ways 20 References edit Bereiter Carl Education and mind in the Knowledge Age Archived from the original on 2006 02 25 Zagzebski Linda 2017 What is Knowledge The Blackwell Guide to Epistemology John Wiley amp Sons Ltd pp 92 116 doi 10 1002 9781405164863 ch3 ISBN 978 1 4051 6486 3 S2CID 158886670 retrieved 2021 11 28 Tarziu Gabriel 2021 04 01 How Do We Obtain Understanding with the Help of Explanations Axiomathes 31 2 173 197 doi 10 1007 s10516 020 09488 6 ISSN 1572 8390 S2CID 218947045 Ludwig Wittgenstein On Certainty remark 42 Pritchard Duncan 2008 08 12 Knowing the Answer Understanding and Epistemic Value Grazer Philosophische Studien 77 1 325 339 doi 10 1163 18756735 90000852 hdl 20 500 11820 522fbeba 15b2 46d0 8019 4647e795642c ISSN 1875 6735 Kvanvig Jonathan L 2003 08 21 The Value of Knowledge and the Pursuit of Understanding Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 1 139 44228 2 Elgin Catherine Z 2017 09 29 True Enough MIT Press ISBN 978 0 262 03653 5 Lipton Peter 2003 10 04 Inference to the Best Explanation Routledge ISBN 978 1 134 54827 9 Kitcher Philip 1985 11 01 Two Approaches to Explanation The Journal of Philosophy 82 11 632 639 doi 10 2307 2026419 JSTOR 2026419 a b c Grimm Stephen R 2014 Fairweather Abrol ed Understanding as Knowledge of Causes Virtue Epistemology Naturalized Bridges Between Virtue Epistemology and Philosophy of Science Synthese Library vol 366 Cham Springer International Publishing pp 329 345 doi 10 1007 978 3 319 04672 3 19 ISBN 978 3 319 04672 3 Pritchard Duncan 2009 Knowledge Understanding and Epistemic Value Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements 64 19 43 doi 10 1017 S1358246109000046 hdl 20 500 11820 0ef91ebb b9f0 44e9 88d6 08afe5e96cc0 ISSN 1755 3555 S2CID 170647127 Hills Alison 2009 10 01 Moral Testimony and Moral Epistemology Ethics 120 1 94 127 doi 10 1086 648610 ISSN 0014 1704 S2CID 144361023 Hills Alison 2010 04 29 The Beloved Self Morality and the Challenge from Egoism Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 921330 6 Bereiter Carl 2005 04 11 Education and Mind in the Knowledge Age Routledge ISBN 978 1 135 64479 6 Kim Jaegwon 1994 Explanatory Knowledge and Metaphysical Dependence Philosophical Issues 5 51 69 doi 10 2307 1522873 ISSN 1533 6077 JSTOR 1522873 a b Grimm Stephen R 2014 Fairweather Abrol ed Understanding as Knowledge of Causes Virtue Epistemology Naturalized Bridges Between Virtue Epistemology and Philosophy of Science Synthese Library vol 366 Cham Springer International Publishing pp 329 345 doi 10 1007 978 3 319 04672 3 19 ISBN 978 3 319 04672 3 Zagzebski Linda 2008 07 08 On Epistemology Cengage Learning ISBN 978 0 534 25234 2 Ruben David Hillel Ruben Director of New York University in London and Professor of Philosophy at the School of Oriental and African Studies David Hillel 2003 Action and Its Explanation Clarendon Press ISBN 978 0 19 823588 0 Chaitin Gregory 2006 The Limits Of Reason PDF Scientific American 294 3 74 81 Bibcode 2006SciAm 294c 74C doi 10 1038 scientificamerican0306 74 PMID 16502614 archived from the original PDF on 2016 03 04 Cristianini Nello 2023 The shortcut why intelligent machines do not think like us Boca Raton ISBN 978 1 003 33581 8 OCLC 1352480147 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link External links edit nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Understanding nbsp Look up understanding in Wiktionary the free dictionary Understanding at PhilPapers Understanding in Epistemology Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Understanding amp oldid 1219732530, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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