Wonder: From Emotion to SpiritualityUniv of North Carolina Press, 2009 M06 23 - 200 pages The attempt to identify the emotional sources of religion goes back to antiquity. In an exploration that bridges science and spirituality, Robert C. Fuller makes the convincing case that a sense of wonder is a principal source of humanity's belief in the existence of an unseen order of life. Like no other emotion, Fuller argues, wonder prompts us to pause, admire, and open our hearts and minds. With a voice that seamlessly blends the scientific and the contemplative, Fuller defines wonder in keeping with the tradition of Socrates--as an emotion related to curiosity and awe that stimulates engagement with the immediate physical world. He draws on the natural and social sciences to explain how wonder can, at the same time, elicit belief in the existence of a more-than-physical reality. Chapters examining emotions in evolutionary biology and the importance of wonder in human cognitive development alternate with chapters on John Muir, William James, and Rachel Carson, whom Fuller identifies as "exemplars of wonder." The writings and lives of these individuals express a functional side of emotion: that the very survival of life on earth today may depend on the empathy, compassion, and care that are aroused by a sense of wonder. Forging new pathways between the social sciences, philosophy, belief, and cultural history, Wonder deepens our understanding of the complex sources of personal spirituality and fulfillment. |
Contents
| 1 | |
2 Emotion and Evolution | 16 |
3 A Life Shaped by Wonder | 42 |
4 Adaptation and Humanitys Appetite for Wonder | 54 |
5 A Life Shaped by Wonder | 69 |
6 Wonder and Psychological Development | 80 |
7 A Life Shaped by Wonder | 101 |
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action activities adaptive American appear argued associated attention awareness basic beauty become behavior belief biological brain called capacity Carson causal cause cognitive concerning connection consciousness construct continue course create creative cultural curiosity di√erent direct distinct divine emotion of wonder emotions engagement environment evolution evolutionary example existence experience of wonder explained expressions fear feeling forms functions give human humanity’s important individuals influence interest James John kinds leads lives meaning mind moral motivates Muir mystical nature needs noted object observed organisms orientation patterns perception philosophical Piaget possible processes prompt provides psychology questions Rachel rational reality reason relations relationship religion religious requires response role scientific seek seems selection sense sensibility shaped social specific spiritual structures surprise surrounding things thinking thought tion true understanding unexpected University Press whole William James York