%0 Generic %1 hubert2021understanding %A Hubert, Mario %D 2021 %K Philosophy thermodynamics %T Understanding Physics: 'What?', 'Why?', and 'How?' %U http://arxiv.org/abs/2107.02558 %X I want to combine two hitherto largely independent research projects, scientific understanding and mechanistic explanations. Understanding is not only achieved by answering why-questions, that is, by providing scientific explanations, but also by answering what-questions, that is, by providing what I call scientific descriptions. Based on this distinction, I develop three forms of understanding: understanding-what, understanding-why, and understanding-how. I argue that understanding-how is a particularly deep form of understanding, because it is based on mechanistic explanations, which answer why something happens in virtue of what it is made of. I apply the three forms of understanding to two case studies: first, to the historical development of thermodynamics and, second, to the differences between the Clausius and the Boltzmann entropy in explaining thermodynamic processes.

@misc{hubert2021understanding, abstract = {I want to combine two hitherto largely independent research projects, scientific understanding and mechanistic explanations. Understanding is not only achieved by answering why-questions, that is, by providing scientific explanations, but also by answering what-questions, that is, by providing what I call scientific descriptions. Based on this distinction, I develop three forms of understanding: understanding-what, understanding-why, and understanding-how. I argue that understanding-how is a particularly deep form of understanding, because it is based on mechanistic explanations, which answer why something happens in virtue of what it is made of. I apply the three forms of understanding to two case studies: first, to the historical development of thermodynamics and, second, to the differences between the Clausius and the Boltzmann entropy in explaining thermodynamic processes.}, added-at = {2021-07-30T13:25:58.000+0200}, author = {Hubert, Mario}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2085e7608ba7158e37a96c6b66558db49/sakshiprajne}, description = {Understanding Physics: 'What?', 'Why?', and 'How?'}, interhash = {3f0fb6fa82061592bc5903d8e83d8ec1}, intrahash = {085e7608ba7158e37a96c6b66558db49}, keywords = {Philosophy thermodynamics}, note = {cite arxiv:2107.02558Comment: Forthcoming in European Journal for Philosophy of Science}, timestamp = {2021-07-30T13:27:37.000+0200}, title = {Understanding Physics: 'What?', 'Why?', and 'How?'}, url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/2107.02558}, year = 2021 }