apprehend

The first thing we are going to do before analyzing the meaning of the term apprehend is to know its etymological origin. In this case, we can say that it is a word that derives from Latin, exactly from the verb “apprehendere” which can be translated as “catch”. It is the result of the sum of the following components:
-The prefix “ad-”, which means “towards”.
-The “prae-” component, which is synonymous with “before”.
-The verb “hendere”, which is equivalent to “grab” or “catch”.

The concept may refer to capture, catch, or pick up something or someone. For example: "An agent tried to apprehend the criminal, but the young assailant managed to escape", "The police mounted an operation with the aim of apprehending the terrorists", "The judge ordered to apprehend the singer for the crime of fraud".

The idea of ​​apprehending is also used synonymously with learn, according to the second meaning mentioned in the dictionary that elaborates the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE). The action consists of knowledge acquisition.

It is common, however, that apprehend is used with reference to "capture" that knowledge: that is, to make it your own. The person who apprehends something, he achieves it for himself and is guaranteed to have it forever or, at least, for a prolonged period. Therefore, apprehending implies perfectly understanding the information, assimilating it and being able to reuse it based on one's own interpretation.

In this sense, it is not the same to learn a lesson in order to repeat it and thus pass an exam, to apprehend the data and assimilate them. A student can complete a course with good grades and yet not have a real mastery of the subject matter. On the other hand, those who really manage to apprehend the contents, increase their intellectual heritage and can, in the future, turn to these symbolic tools that are already part of their being.

From these ideas, it can be affirmed that, by reading a text, a person can learn (and repeat or "use" information) or apprehend (interpret and reinterpret information).

Precisely for all the above, apprehending takes on a special role in education and, above all, in subjects such as philosophy. And it is that the teachers who teach this consider that the final objective to be achieved with the classes is that their students apprehend. Of course, because it is the way that they can not only assimilate knowledge but also compare them with each other and even establish their logic.

Moreover, in the philosophical branch, apprehension is necessary to subject everything that is exposed to criticism. In this way, students will be able to have the "tools" necessary to reason, to analyze anything in their life, to compare it and even to understand it and know how to act on it.

Yes, they will have the ability to question the questions that arise, to refute them and even to reaffirm them through the corresponding arguments. Some learnings that will not only be important for class but for life in general, both in the present and in the future.