The Art of Wonder

by Dr. Phil Ayers, DMin

I. Wonder is an emotion

A. Traditional Definition

1. To Ponder

2. To Question

B. More Modern View - Comparable to surprise

1. Is a brief mental and physiological state

2. A startle response experienced by animals and humans as the result of an

unexpected event

1) That people feel when perceiving something very rare or unexpected

(but not threatening)

2) It has historically been seen as an important aspect of human nature

3) Specifically, being linked with curiosity

4) And the drive behind intellectual exploration

What animals? Examples of surprise

5) Wonder is also often compared to the emotion of awe

1. Awe is an emotion comparable to wonder but less joyous

2. Awe is modeled as a combination of surprise and fear

3. One dictionary definition is "an overwhelming feeling of

reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is
grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like: in awe of God;
in awe of great political figures"

Is there evidence of awe in other species? What? What implications would this raise?

4. But awe implies fear or respect rather than joy

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II. Philosophers Views

A. René Descartes (1596–1650) - French philosopher, mathematician, scientist, and writer

1. Described wonder as one of the primary emotions

What primary emotions?

2. Because he claimed that emotions in general are reactions to unexpected

phenomena

3. He noted that when people first encounter a surprising or new object, "... this
makes us wonder and be astonished at it"

4. He believed that "Wonder is the first of all the passions" (Descartes The Passions
of the Soul Article 53)

Why would he think this?

1) But Descartes, unlike the Greek philosophers before him, held a

fundamentally negative view of wonder:

1. Plato quote – “Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher; and

philosophy begins in wonder”

2. Bacon quote – “Wonder is the seed of knowledge”

3. Abraham Joshua Heschel stated, "Wonder, rather than

doubt, is the root of knowledge"

4. Kierkegaard said, “Philosophy as Plato and Aristotle said

begins in wonder”

Where does Descartes’ negative view of passion fit with these earlier philosophers?

2) "Although it is good to be born with some kind of inclination to this

passion [wonder] because it disposes us to the acquisition of sciences,
yet we ought afterwards to endeavor as much as we can to be rid of
it" (Descartes The Passions of the Soul 2 Article 76)

1. But what about issues such as:

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 1) What am I doing here?

2) Where did I come from?

3) Why am I doing the things that I am doing?

4) Does my life have purpose?

5) Am I truly free and am I responsible for the choices

I make?

6) Is there life after death?

7) How do I gain genuine knowledge and ascertain

truth?

8) What is truth?

3) This sentiment is reflected in other early modern authors like

B. Thomas Hobbes (1588 – 1679)

1. In his discussion about the English words Curiosity, Joy and Admiration

1) Hobbes argued that since "... whatsoever therefore happened new to

a man, gives him hope and matter of knowing somewhat that he
knew not before", which creates "...hope and expectation of future
knowledge from anything that happened new and strange", a
"passion which we commonly call ADMIRATION; and the same
considered as appetite, is called CURIOSITY, which is appetite of
knowledge"

2. In De Homine XII, Hobbes discussed the “joy” of “admiration” again

contrasting humans to other animals

1) Hobbes argues that "...this passion is almost peculiar to men"

2) He pointed out that "even if other animals, whenever they behold

something new or unusual, admire it as far as they behold something
new or unusual" so that they can determine if it dangerous or
harmless, men on the other hand, "

3) When they see something new, seek to know whence it came and to
what use they can put it"

Is Hobbes correct to argue that animals cannot discern danger or the good of something new?

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 C. Adam Smith (1723 – 1790)

1. In The History of Astronomy, he dwells on wonder not to explain the

difference between human and animal thinking only

1) But rather to explain why we study natural science

1. Natural science is a branch of science concerned with the

description, prediction, and understanding of natural
phenomena

2. Based on observational and empirical evidence (5 senses)

3. Validity, accuracy, and social mechanisms ensuring quality

control

4. Such as peer review and repeatability of findings, are amongst

the criteria and methods used for this purpose

What mechanisms used in Natural Science would eliminate animals from the discussion of
wonder?

2) An un-civilized person, or child, is still clearly different from other

animals

3) Because “it beats the stone that hurts it”

4) The child is concerned with finding an account of cause and effect,

but it is limited in its ability to do so

2. He argues

1) But when law has established order and security, and substance
ceases to be precarious, the curiosity of mankind is increased, and
their fears are diminished

1. precarious = dependent on circumstances beyond one's

control; uncertain; unstable; insecure

2. precarious = exposed to or involving danger; dangerous;

perilous; risky

2) Wonder, therefore, and not any expectation of advantage from its

discoveries, is the first principle which prompts mankind to the study
of Philosophy

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 3) Of that science which pretends to lay open the concealed connections
that unite the various appearance of nature; and they pursue this
study for its own sake, as an original pleasure or good in itself,
without regarding its tendency to procure them the means of many
other pleasures

D. Melvin Konner (1946 - )

1. In The Tangled Wing, He reviews the biologist’s view of this pain and pleasure of
learning

2. He notes that "If the problem is too unfamiliar, it will evoke attention

3. If it is difficult but doable, it will evoke interest, attention, and arousal

4. And, when solved, it will evoke pleasure, often signaled by a smile"

5. He says that “wonder” is “the hallmark of our species and the central feature of
the human spirit”