more on this theme | more from this thinker | more from this text
Full Idea
There are a number of reasons why we explain: out of sheer curiosity, to increase our control of a situation, to help understanding by simplifying or making familiar, to confer meaning or significance, and to give scientific authority to some statement.
Gist of Idea
Explanation is for curiosity, control, understanding, to make meaningful, or to give authority
Source
Michael Stanford (Explanation: the state of play [1991], p.172)
Book Ref
'Cogito Magazine 05/3', ed/tr. Pyle,Andrew [Carfax 1991], p.172