Apprehend refers to capture or catch.
Apprehend is a concept that can refer to capturing, trapping or picking 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 the arrest of the singer for the crime of fraud" .
The etymology of the term takes us to the Latin apprehendere , which can be translated as “ to 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 “ grasp ” or “catch” .
Apprehend and learn
The idea of apprehending is also used as a synonym for learning , according to the second meaning mentioned in the dictionary prepared by the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ). The action consists of the acquisition of knowledge .
It is common, however, for apprehend to be used in reference to “capturing” that knowledge: that is, to making it one's own . The person who apprehends something gets it for himself and is guaranteed to have it forever or, at least, for a long period of time. Therefore, apprehending implies perfectly understanding the information, assimilating it and being able to reuse it based on one's own interpretation.
In this sense, learning a lesson to repeat it and thus pass an exam is not the same as apprehending the data and assimilating it. A student can complete a course with good grades and yet not have real mastery of the topics. On the other hand, those who really manage to grasp the contents increase their intellectual heritage and can, in the future, resort to those symbolic tools that are already part of their being.
The idea of apprehending can be used with reference to the acquisition of knowledge.
The concept in education
From these ideas , it can be stated that, when reading a text, a person can learn (and repeat or "use" the information) or apprehend (interpret and reinterpret the information).
Precisely because of all the above, apprehending takes on a special role within education and, above all, in subjects such as philosophy . And the teachers who teach this subject consider that the final objective to be achieved with the classes is for their students to learn since it is the way that they can not only assimilate the knowledge but also compare it with each other and even establish its logic.
In the philosophical branch, apprehending is necessary to subject everything that is exposed to criticism . In this way, students will have the necessary “tools” to reason, analyze, compare and understand.
By apprehending, students develop the ability to question the questions raised, to refute them and even to reaffirm them through the corresponding arguments. Some learning that will not only be important for class but for life in general, both in the present and in the future.