There is a great difference between knowing and understanding: you can know a lot about something and not really understand it. — Charles F. Kettering
Knowledge may come by asking 'what' and 'how'. Understanding usually comes by asking 'why'. That's why I believe before going on to 'what' and 'how', one should always ask 'why'. If one gets its answer right then there's little room for failure. There is a difference between knowing something and understanding it.
The Difference
Understanding is not exclusive of knowing, of course, but knowing doesn't necessarily mean understanding.
While you know something by observation, reading and hearing about it, understanding essentially happens with deep inquiry and contemplation (along with observation, reading, hearing etc) about it ending up with "eureka" of realization. This last, realization stage is the essential part of the process of understanding.
Knowledge is superficial if not gained through understanding, or not followed by the aforementioned process of understanding. The real essence is understanding, and it has to come from within oneself. Knowledge is always external. It becomes one's own only when it is understood. Knowledge without understanding doesn't help as much, especially in difficult situations. For instance, by reading self-help literature, philosophy etc, one can get knowledge, but it seldom makes substantial difference, because seldom does one go through the process of understanding which the original author has. Even if what one observes, reads or hears makes sense on the surface, unless and until one goes through and completes the process of understanding one hasn't really grasped it wholly.
Most people think they possess the understanding of something, when actually they only know it. And that knowledge they have picked from other people. They have observed/read/heard those things so many times that it has created an illusion of having understood those things; and hence, they are never ever questioned or contemplated. Problems, however, are faced in difficult situations. Because knowledge is after all just knowledge. Without understanding in life, man is lost.
hey wonderfully written about why, what and how..i am less philosophical and inclined towards education..and thus the same idea of understanding and not knowing could be found in the theory of learning..blooms taxonomy..strictly educational in nature not philosophical..having said this..it does share the idea of differentiating between knowing and learning and understanding.
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