With any question, why is it always so helpful to know why the answer is the one that is? In another words, which principle of thinking and learning is most closely tied to question “why”? Or is it purely social act of expressing deeper interest? Is questioning for reasons mandatory?

I feel I know the answer to this question intuitively, but find it hard to express it into words without it sounding stereotypical and lazy.

This seems bizarre, because it’s children who are most “famous” for asking “why” all the time, but: How would you, say explain to a child, why do we need to know reasons behind things?

  • curiosityLynx@kglitch.social
    3·
    1 year ago

    Two reasons I can think of:

    • Information is more trustworthy if you can arrive at the same conclusion or at least understand how the other person arrived at it given the same information. If someone tells you that person X should be avoided, you could either blindly follow that advice or ask for a reason to decide whether you’d agree with the assessment.
    • Knowing the reasons behind something is also useful for extrapolating to new knowledge. A child who asks why they need to bathe will not just learn to wash themselves regularly but also about hygene in general, societal expectations about body odor and/or a possible disease vector.