They are actually quite different. 'How' asks about the current state of things and how they are possible. 'Why' asks about the past, and how the current stat

They are actually quite different. 'How' asks about the current state of things and how they are possible. 'Why' asks about the past, and how the current state of things came to be. Depending on interpretation of the question, 'why' can be a lot more philosophical than 'how'.