The goal of explanation

I defend the claim that understanding is the goal of explanation against various persistent criticisms, especially the criticism that understanding is not truth-connected in the appropriate way, and hence is a merely psychological (rather than epistemic) state. Part of the reason why understanding has been dismissed as the goal of explanation. I suggest, is because the psychological dimension of the goal of explanation has itself been almost entirely neglected. In turn, the psychological dimension of understanding the Aha! experience, the sense that a certain explanation "feels right", and so on has been conspicuously overemphasized. I try to correct for both of these exaggerations. Just as the goal of explanation includes a richer psychological including phenomenological dimension than is generally acknowledged, so too understanding has a stronger truth connection than is generally acknowledged. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd.