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Wonder (emotion)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wonder is an emotion comparable to surprise that people feel when perceiving something very rare
or unexpected (but not threatening). It has historically been seen as an important aspect of human
nature, specifically being linked with curiosity and the drive behind intellectual exploration.[1]
Wonder is also often compared to the emotion of awe[2] but awe implies fear or respect rather than
joy.

History
French philosopher, mathematician, scientist, and writer Ren Descartes (15961650) described
wonder as one of the primary emotions because he claimed that emotions in general are reactions to
unexpected phenomena. He noted that when people first encounter a surprising or new object, "...
this makes us wonder and be astonished at it". Descartes therefore propounded that "Wonder is the
first of all the passions." (Descartes The Passions of the Soul Article 53.) But Descartes, unlike the
Greek philosophers before him, held a fundamentally negative view of wonder: "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.)

This sentiment is reflected in other early modern authors like Thomas Hobbes in his discussion
about the English words Curiosity, Joy and Admiration. Hobbes argued that since "... whatsoever
therefore happeneth new to a man, giveth him hope and matter of knowing somewhat that he knew
not before", which creates "...hope and expectation of future knowledge from anything that
happeneth new and strange", a "passion which we commonly call ADMIRATION; and the same
considered as appetite, is called CURIOSITY, which is appetite of knowledge."[3]

In De Homine XII, Hobbes discussed the joy of admiration again contrasting humans to other
animals. Hobbes argues that "...this passion is almost peculiar to men." 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, "when they see something new, seek to know whence it came and to what use they can put
it."

In The History of Astronomy, Adam Smith dwells on wonder not to explain the difference between
human and animal thinking only, but rather to explain why we study natural science. An
un-civilised person, or child, is still clearly different from other animals because it beats the stone
that hurts it. The child is concerned with finding an account of cause and effect, but it is limited in
its ability to do so.[4]

But when law has established order and security, and subsistence ceases to be

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precarious, the curiosity of mankind is increased,

and their fears are diminished. [...] Wonder,
therefore, and not any expectation of advantage from
its discoveries, is the first principle which prompts
mankind to the study of Philosophy, 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.
I wonder..., image.
In The Tangled Wing, Melvin Konner reviews the biologists
view of this pain and pleasure of learning. He notes that "If the problem is too unfamiliar, it will
evoke attention; if it is difficult but doable, it will evoke interest, attention, and arousal and, when
solved, it will evoke pleasure, often signalled by a smile." (p. 242) He says that wonder is the
hallmark of our species and the central feature of the human spirit.[5]

Concerning the special importance of wonder (, thaumazein in Ancient Greek) to

philosophy see Plato Theaetetus 155D and Aristotle Metaphysics I.ii.982b11-24. For Aristotle also
see Poetics IV: understanding [manthanein] gives great pleasure not only to philosophers but
likewise to others too, though the latter have a smaller share in it. Indeed, he says, people like
looking at images because of the pleasure of contemplating [therizein] what something is through
manthanein and syllogizesthai (syllogism: a bringing together of logoi or accounts). We even
enjoy contemplating the most precise images of things whose sight is painful to us.

Notes
1. Philip Fisher. Wonder, the Rainbow, and the Aesthetics of Rare Experiences. Harvard University Press.
Retrieved 2016-03-30.
2. Keltner; Haidt. "Approaching awe" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 29, 2011.
3. Elements of Law I (Human Nature) IX, paragraph 18.
4. Smith, Adam (1982) [1795], The HISTORY of ASTRONOMY - Adam Smith, Glasgow Edition of the
Works and Correspondence Vol. 3 Essays on Philosophical Subjects, archived from the original on
August 5, 2010
5. Konner, Melvin J (2002) [1982]. The Tangled Wing: Biological Constraints on the Human Spirit (2nd
ed.). New York: Times Books.

Bibliography
Philip Fisher (1999). "Wonder, The Rainbow, and the Wikimedia Commons
Aesthetics of Rare Experiences". London: Harvard has media related to
University Press.

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Wonder (emotion) - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_(emotion)

Keltner, D.; Haidt, J. (2003). "Approaching awe, a moral, Wondering in art.

spiritual, and aesthetic emotion. Cognition and Emotion"
(PDF) (17): 297314. Look up wonder in
Keltner, D.; Haidt, J. (2004). "Appreciation of beauty and Wiktionary, the free
excellence". In C. Peterson and M. E. P. Seligman. dictionary.
Character strengths and virtues. Washington DC:
American Psychological Association Press. pp. 537551.

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