4 Answers

  1. It seems that the author of the question meant, first of all, the understanding/misunderstanding that arises between people. We will not say to a physics textbook: “I don't understand you!”, but to a close person who does something strange and, from our point of view, wrong-we will definitely do it.

    So what do we mean when we say to another person ,” I understand you”? I think we want to say that the situation in which a person finds himself is somewhat familiar to us, or we can imagine how we ourselves find ourselves in a similar situation. It should be noted that “understanding” how and why a person acts in a certain situation does not mean that we ourselves will do the same. I mean, it's not hard to imagine when I say ,” I understand why you're doing this, but I'd do it differently if I were you.” Can you understand a doctor who disconnects a terminally ill person from the life support machine at the request of his relatives in order to save him from suffering? I think we can understand it – but will we do the same ourselves? It's hard to say.

    What does misunderstanding mean? I think we should recognize that understanding is the exception rather than the rule (some philosophers thought it was impossible). That is, initially we do not understand the motives, goals, feelings, and desires of other people. For a perfectly banal reason: we are not them. Not in the sense that they are somehow wrong, no, it's just that all people are different, and I can only reliably judge what is happening in my own head. In this sense, the question of the purpose of misunderstanding is meaningless, because it simply exists, like the change of seasons or a runny nose. But for a person, a misunderstanding can become a kind of challenge: can I overcome this misunderstanding? This is possible only if I first try to abstract from my own situation, and at least virtually, take the place of another person. It is difficult, it can be unpleasant, but it is not possible to break out of your own “cave” (the image of Francis Bacon) otherwise. Misunderstanding, and most importantly, the realization that I don't understand something, becomes an incentive to expand my point of view, to try to look “from the outside”. Someone may find it useless – after all, he is perfectly happy with his own point of view. And we even understand it, but that doesn't mean we'll do the same, does it?

  2. Before answering a given question, you need to know what the author of the question means by the word “society.”If the author means by this word the population of the country, this is one definition, but if it is a society of the country's elite or a society of beer lovers or free artists, then these are completely different issues. It is necessary to ask specific questions. I just don't understand what the author of the question means. With respect.

  3. If a misunderstanding ignites interest, then this is a creative manifestation. If misunderstanding does not arouse the desire to find out, to know…. then it is destructive.

  4. The common interpretation of the meaning of the word “understanding” is outdated and it is necessary to clarify it on the basis of theoretical science. In the history of philosophy, there are enough grounds for the following interpretation of it on the basis of a cumulative series: accuracy (reliability) – clarity – understanding. Accuracy is a criterion of sensory perception of reality (But feelings can deceive, see N. Malebranche). Clarity is a criterion of consideration that arises on the basis of language acquisition. Understanding is an attribute of mental reflection of reality, which can be tested on the basis of mastering mathematical and logical thinking. People live on the basis of these forms of knowledge, and the main problem is to master the power of logical thinking, which essentially explains objects and provides understanding..

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