silber@sbphy.ucsb.edu (03/01/89)
Outside of the chinese room, down a side corridor, a question re: the etymology of ''understanding''.. The english dictionary refers it to early english with a meaning of 'standing among'. In german the word is VERstehen, a related word of germanic origin. What does 'comprendre' stem from? or 'dung' (chinese verb meaning understaning)? Can some etymologist answer this side-corridor question with a shor article or reference to a comparative study of the history of the word <understanding> in various languages?
bwk@mbunix.mitre.org (Barry W. Kort) (03/01/89)
An unsigned posting asks for deeper insight into the etymology of the English word, "understanding". If you think of an idea or object as built up from more elementary pieceparts, then these component parts "stand under" or hold up the main idea. (Each of the component piecparts can in turn be decomposed into still simpler subcomponents, so that we get an upside down "tree" with atomic elements at the bottom.) Having all the foundation material in mind constitutes "understanding". Personally, I prefer the term "comprehend" to "understand" because its etymology is clearer. "Comprehend" means "to capture with". In my mind, I have a mental model which resembles the structure and behavior of the real-world object. I "capture" reality with my model, just like a phototgraph captures a scene. --Barry Kort