As described above, William argued that all significant words are imposed to name existing things in the world and these words generate sound understandings of those things they were imposed to signify.
Having already demonstrated an interest in accommodating spiritual obligations, the administration can and should consider different understandings of those obligations.
In that sense, religions can be considered allies competing against common enemies that destroy life, even if our understandings of those enemies differ.
When this process is applied to the Creative Word -- the revealed teachings of the divine religions -- it makes possible powerful ways to develop and test new understandings of those teachings, not by sectarian conflict but by application and evaluation.
The implications are that managing implementation requires deliberate engagement with the values, interests, and understandings of those actors who might block or subvert policy change.
In terms of our second aim, it is clear that the understandings of those who participated in GENDEP did not correspond to the aims of the scientists who conducted the study.
The purpose of a health care system is not fixed by any essential nature, meaning, or purpose of health care, but by the shared purposes and understandings of those who provide and receive care in that system.
