Wonder Vs. Awe (Week 13)
I really appreciate Professor Helen de Cruz’s perspective of wonder and awe and their notable similarities and even more significant differences. They are both deep, impactful emotions that are prompted by experiences that you couldn’t have predicted before they took place.
From what I gathered from their conversation, wonder is characterized by a sense of curiosity and fascination when facing something unexpected. It involves a non-judgmental, open-minded perspective on the world. This point of view allows people to be impacted by new experiences without immediately seeking to rationalize them. Wonder is prompted by the beauty, complexity, or mystery of the world.
On the other hand, awe involves a deeper sense of reverence and humility in the face of something beyond this world. Awe can evoke deep feelings of reverence, humility, and a recognition of one’s own insignificance in the grand scheme of things. It often arises in response to experiences that challenge one’s understanding of the world or evoke a sense of the sacred.
I found it really interesting when they discussed cognitive accommodation. I think it is true that for experiences that evoke awe or wonder, you have to change the framework of your ideals in order to gain a full understanding of the unbelievable. I think it is because of the emotive nature of awe and wonder that people give into this accommodation, though. As we all know, it is not always easy to change how you think, but when something prompts such a powerful feeling as awe or wonder, you really have no choice but to give in to that overwhelming feeling and change your thought process.
Furthermore, Professor de Cruz helps us understand how our brains work when we feel strong emotions like awe and wonder. She explains how these feelings influence the way we see and interact with the world. When she talks about cognitive accommodation, she’s showing us how awe and wonder can change the way we think and understand things. Overall, she shines a light on how amazing and powerful our emotions can be, and how they can make us see the world in new ways.
