Toward a Theory of Understanding

This chapter proposes that understanding is the grasp of structure. The structure of an object gives it unity and lets us see it as a single object. When we grasp an object’s structure, we understand the object. Understanding must simplify what it grasps, and the larger and more complex the object of understanding, the more we must simplify and leave out of the phenomenon components that may be important at different times or for different purposes. The object of understanding can be anything that has structure: a living organism, an event, a narrative, a piece of music, a philosophical argument, a causal relation, a human intentional act, etc.