In contrast with an epistemological tradition centered on knowledge, more recently philosophers have
started exploring the notion of understanding. What does it mean to understand a natural phenomenon or
a theorem? Several philosophers have sought to draw a distinction between knowledge and
understanding. Whereas the former has a close link to truth, it is controversial whether understanding is,
in a relevant sense, factual. To the extent that science seeks to provide understanding about the world,
this debate touches on a number of issues, like, for instance, the distinctness of the scientific enterprise,
as well as understanding in the arts and humanities. We will discuss the nature of understanding, with
special focus on understanding in the sciences and the arts, basing on the recent account developed by
Catherine Z. Elgin in her book True Enough (MIT Press, 2017).
The reading material will be made available on Moodle before the Seminar begins. Access to the Moodle
page requires a password. The password will be given on the first meeting, or alternatively, by email.
Literature
As a way of introduction, I recommend reading the following papers:
Catherine Z. Elgin, “True Enough” Philosophical issues 14 (2004) , pp. 113-131.
Michael Hannon, “Recent Work in the Epistemology of Understanding” American Philosophical
Quarterly (forth).
- Kursleiter/in: Alfredo Vernazzani