CHAPTER 1
Introduction
DISCOVERY VERSUS UNDERSTANDING
Science promises discovery. Great industries and great nations spend huge sums of money hoping that further discoveries will make them richer and more powerful. Publishers and broadcasters retail news to audiences eager to share in the adventure and the profits of scientific discovery. Philosophy promises understanding. But, what makes us say that we understand this or that idea? What makes us say that students understand? Is it that they can repeat back what they have heard or read, that they can pass examinations, that they say they understand? Those who promise adventure, profit, power, must have something concrete to offer: mushroom-shaped clouds, moon rocks, chess-playing machines. Where ...
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