The moon does go around the Earth, which is like saying New York City is larger than my backyard. In both cases, we map relationships or we measure quantities. But neither amounts to understanding the locations on those maps. We can measure, predict, and control, but that's not the same as understanding ultimately what we're doing. Ancient doctors had remedies for certain diseases without having any idea what diseases really are. Some of the remedies worked well enough in spite of that mystification.

A monkey has its level of measuring and controlling things in its environment, but a monkey's understanding of certain things is much less than an average adult person's. We can both ignore the philosophical questions and use our calculations to cope with what's out there, but the mysteries remain which are settled only by deep contemplation and insights.