Understanding Defined
by Philip Atkinson

Understanding—is the bestowing of meaning upon observations.

Meaning—is the realisation obtained by applying reason to beliefs about:

1. Right and Wrong— decided by the beliefs that Control the Understanding by dictating what to do and what not to do, which is the morality of the understanding:

i.Must exist before understanding can occur.
ii.Is permanent as it is formed during the creation of the understanding by accidental events.
iii.Is the personality, or character, of the understanding as it dictates behaviour.
iv.Must be either:
a. SelfishWhere the set of beliefs places the welfare of the self ahead of all other considerations.
b. UnselfishWhere the set of beliefs places something other than the welfare of the self ahead of all other considerations. For example where the welfare of the community is considered more important than the self.

2. Cause and Effect—decided by the beliefs that are the experience, or knowledge, of the understanding. They are collected and refined throughout the life of the understanding and stored in memory. This accumulation of knowledge allows the recognition of patterns in the knowledge, which result in the development of Abstract Tools that enhance the power of the understanding, such as:
Recognition of truth from falsity; Recognition of Good from evil; Logic; Language; Mathematics

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