Comprendere è spiegare?

This paper discusses the issue of ‘understanding’built from and as a continuation of Jaspers’ legacy. We argue that the strict dichotomy of understanding and explaining can be overcome. The abnormal experiences in clinical cases of schizophrenic derealization are taken as an example. We show that an accurate and detailed characterization of these experiences can help us understand the metamorphosis of the ontological framework within which abnormal experiences are cast. The shift of focus from the experiential (phenomenal) level to the framework of experience as a condition of possibility allows the shift from pure description to casual explanation.