Explaining Understanding

Stephen R. Grimm is Professor of Philosophy at Fordham University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame, his B.A. from Williams College, and he works mainly in epistemology, the philosophy of science, and ethics.Christoph Baumberger is Senior Researcher at the Institute for Environmental Decisions at ETH Zurich. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Zurich, and he has published in epistemology, philosophy of science, aesthetics, and philosophy of architecture.　Sabine Ammon works at the Berlin University of Technology as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow, funded by the European Union. She received her Ph.D. from Berlin University of Technology. She works mainly in epistemology, philosophy of engineering sciences and technology, image theory, and design ethics.

• List of ContributorsAcknowledgementsGuide to the Essays1 What is Understanding? An Overview of Recent Debates in Epistemology and Philosophy of ScienceChristoph Baumberger, Claus Beisbart and Georg BrunPart IUnderstanding and the Facts2 How Idealization Provide UnderstandingMichael Strevens3 How False Theories can Yield Genuine UnderstandingHenk W. de Regt and Victor Gijsbers4 Exemplification in UnderstandingCatherine Z. Elgin5 Explaining Understanding, Understanding KnowledgeSabine Ammon6 Enlightening Falsehoods: A Model View of Scientific UnderstandingSoazig Le BihanPart IIUnderstanding and its Norms7 Must Understanding be Coherent?Kareem Khalifa8 Dimensions of Objectual UnderstandingChristoph Baumberger and Georg Brun9 An Evidentialist Account of Explanatory UnderstandingMark Newman10 Understanding and TransparencyStephen R. Grimm11 Satisfying UnderstandingJohn GrecoPart III Understanding and the Epistemic Agent12 Towards a Knowledge-Based Account of UnderstandingChristoph Kelp13 Cognitive Bias, Scepticism and UnderstandingJ. Adam Carter and Duncan Pritchard14 Social Epistemology and the Acquisition of UnderstandingEmma C. Gordon15 Understanding without BelievingDaniel A. WilkenfeldIndex

"Recent epistemology has drawn increasing attention to the upper normative dimensions of the life of the mind. At the center of these discussions has been a concern with understanding conceived of as a state superior to true belief, justified belief, and even knowledge. The present volume advances previous discussions of understanding along several fronts. It brings together leading epistemologists and philosophers of science to address such issues as the relationship between understanding and truth, the nature and structure of the justificatory element of understanding, whether understanding requires knowledge (or even belief), and much more. The volume is very well-organized and the chapters complement and engage each other in interesting and fruitful ways. It provides anyone with an interest in philosophical issues related to understanding with a great deal to think about and learn from."- Jason Baehr, Loyola Marymount University, USA"The volume’s introductory essay by Christoph Baumberger, Claus Beisbart, and Georg Brun provides an excellent overview of recent debates about understanding. Explaining Understanding contains some excellent essays that are likely to become highly influential."- Finnur Dellsen, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway