Full Idea
'Understanding why' is quite separate from 'understanding that': you might be exquisitely, incandescently aware of the cat's being on the mat without having the slightest clue how it got there. My topic is understanding why.
Gist of Idea
We may 'understand that' the cat is on the mat, but not at all 'understand why' it is there
Source
Michael Strevens (No Understanding without Explanation [2011], 2)
A Reaction
Can't we separate 'understand how' from 'understand why'? I may know that someone dropped a cat through my letterbox, but more understanding would still be required. (He later adds understanding 'with' a theory).