Is the use of “how” and “why” in this context interchangeable

usage

There's a book that I was reading where a person has just found out about ionizing radiation. He says the following sentence:

Thanks. Now I know how my friends died.

The answer to that question is "radiation sickness". But that got me thinking: the author is right to use "how" here, but he could also have used "why" couldn't he?

Thanks. Now I know why my friends died.

There's a minute difference between "how" the friends died (radiation causing cell death; out of all the ways, that's the way it happened) and "why" they died (due to being exposed to radiation; if they hadn't, they'd have been alive) and "how" actually seems more correct but I just keep feeling "why" could have been used here as well.

Am I right? Is it interchangeable, or "how" should always be used?

Best Answer

"How" and "why" mean different things. Your example is no exception, it's just that you've found a context where they elicit the same answer, but only because the answer has been abbreviated.

  • How did they die? They got radiation sickness.
  • Why did they die? The radiation sickness killed them.

'How' asks for the circumstances or events leading up to the death. 'Why' asks for the reason they died. Those could be the same, but not always. For example, if the circumstance of a person's death was a car accident, the reason they died might be head trauma. Or, if a person took their own life, asking 'how' might mean the method they used, but asking 'why' might get the response that they had depression.

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