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Understanding: not know-how.
- Source :
-
Philosophical Studies . Jan2018, Vol. 175 Issue 1, p221-240. 20p. - Publication Year :
- 2018
-
Abstract
- There is considerable agreement among epistemologists that certain abilities are constitutive of understanding-why. These abilities include: constructing explanations, drawing conclusions, and answering questions. This agreement has led epistemologists to conclude that understanding is a kind of know-how. However, in this paper, I argue that the abilities constitutive of understanding are the same kind of cognitive abilities that we find in ordinary cases of knowledge-that and not the kind of practical abilities associated with know-how. I argue for this by disambiguating between different senses of abilities that are too often lumped together. As a consequence, non-reductionists about understanding-those that claim that understanding-why is not reducible to knowledge-that-need to find another way to motivate the view. In the end, the fact that abilities are constitutive of understanding-why does not give us reason to conclude that understanding is a kind of know-how. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- *THEORY of knowledge
*COGNITIVE ability
*REDUCTIONISM
*QUESTIONING
*PSYCHOLOGY
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00318116
- Volume :
- 175
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Philosophical Studies
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 127064112
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-017-0863-z