Between Awe and Anxiety (original) (raw)
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Awe and the Experience of the Sublime: A Complex Relationship
Frontiers in Psychology, 2020
Awe seems to be a complex emotion or emotional construct characterized by a mix of positive (contentment, happiness), and negative affective components (fear and a sense of being smaller, humbler or insignificant). It is striking that the elicitors of awe correspond closely to what philosophical aesthetics, and especially Burke and Kant, have called “the sublime.” As a matter of fact, awe is almost absent from the philosophical agenda, while there are very few studies on the experience of the sublime as such in the psychological literature. The aim of this paper is to throw light on the complex relationship between awe (as understood by psychologists) and the experience of the sublime (as discussed by philosophers). We distinguish seven ways of conceiving this relationship and highlight those that seem more promising to us. Once we have a clearer picture of how awe and the experience of the sublime are related, we can use it to enhance collaboration between these domains. We would be able to use empirical results about awe in a philosophical analysis of the experience of the sublime, which in turn can help us to design novel experimental hypotheses about the contexts in which we experience awe.
The Overview Effect: Awe and Self-Transcendent Experience in Space Flight
Psychology of Consciousness, 2016
Viewing the Earth from space has often prompted astronauts to report overwhelming emotion and feelings of identification with humankind and the planet as a whole. In this article, we explore this experience, known as the "overview effect." We examine astronaut accounts of the overview effect and suggest existing psychological constructs, such as awe and self-transcendent experience, that might contribute to a psychological understanding of this experience. We argue that the overview effect suggests directions for future research on altered states of consciousness in new contexts, with potential implications for better understanding well-being in isolated, confined, extreme (ICE) environments such as space flight.
Intersections Between Awe and the Sublime: A Preliminary Empirical Study
Empirical Studies of the Arts, 2021
This empirical study examines how philosophical work on the sublime relates to contemporary psychological work on awe. We operationalized several aspects of the sublime drawing from prominent philosophical theories and analyzed them in relation to three different measures of awe. We found high correlations between our items on the sublime and the measures of awe, especially with the self-loss and connectedness dimensions. By operationalizing aspects of the sublime drawn from influential philosophical theories and comparing them with psychological measures of awe, we found a large degree of overlap between awe and the sublime, suggesting that these two literatures could inform one another.
This book was published in October 2015. Employing methods from neuroscience, psychology, phenomenology and simulation technology, Gallagher et al designed the first scientific study of the feelings of awe and wonder experienced by astronauts during space flight. Reported here, this study provides a detailed analysis of the categories of awe and wonder experiences and their replication in two interdisciplinary experiments. It explores questions that pertain to the representations of these experiences in science, art, and culture, and the effect of these representations on our expectations concerning space. The findings of this study are offered as a model for integrating first-person phenomenology and third-person experimental science, with considerations about how culture can shape experience. By pursuing these ‘large’ interdisciplinary methods, the authors argue for an integrated, non-reductionist approach to cognitive science.
South African Journal of Philosophy, 2013
Astronauts often report experiences of awe and wonder while traveling in space. This paper addresses the question of whether awe and wonder can be scientifically investigated in a simulated space travel scenario using a neurophenomenological method. To answer this question, we created a mixed-reality simulation similar to the environment of the International Space Station. Portals opened to display simulations of Earth or Deep Space. However, the challenge still remained of how to best capture the resulting experience of participants. We could use psychological methods, neuroscientific methods or philosophical methods. Each of these approaches offer many benefits, but each is also limited. Neurophenomenology capitalises on and integrates all three methods. We employed questionnaires from psychology, electroencephalography, electrocardiography, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy from neuroscience, and a phenomenological interview technique from philosophy. This neurophenomenological method enabled extensive insight in experiencers and non-experiencers of awe and wonder (AW) in a simulated space scenario that otherwise would not have been possible. Traditional empirical analyses were completed, followed by individual differences analyses using interview transcriptions paired with physiological responses. Experiencers of AW showed differences in theta and beta activity throughout the brain compared to non-experiencers. Questionnaires indicated that non-experiencers of AW gave more positive responses of religious and spiritual practices than experiencers of AW. Interviews showed that awe and wonder were more likely to occur when watching the simulated Earth view instead of the Deep Space view. Our study is a successful example of neurophenomenology, a powerful and promising interdisciplinary approach for future studies of complex states of experience.
The Dark Side of the Sublime: Distinguishing a Threat-Based Variant of Awe
Theoretical conceptualizations of awe suggest this emotion can be more positive or negative depending on specific appraisal processes. However, the emergent scientific study of awe rarely emphasizes its negative side, classifying it instead as a positive emotion. In the present research we tested whether there is a more negative variant of awe that arises in response to vast, complex stimuli that are threatening (e.g., tornadoes, terrorist attack, wrathful god). We discovered people do experience this type of awe with regularity (Studies 1 & 4) and that it differs from other variants of awe in terms of its underlying appraisals, subjective experience, physiological correlates, and consequences for well-being. Specifically , threat-based awe experiences were appraised as lower in self-control and certainty and higher in situational control than other awe experiences, and were characterized by greater feelings of fear (Studies 2a & 2b). Threat-based awe was associated with physiological indicators of increased sympathetic autonomic arousal, whereas positive awe was associated with indicators of increased parasympathetic arousal (Study 3). Positive awe experiences in daily life (Study 4) and in the lab (Study 5) led to greater momentary well-being (compared with no awe experience), whereas threat-based awe experiences did not. This effect was partially mediated by increased feelings of powerlessness during threat-based awe experiences. Together, these findings highlight a darker side of awe.
Towards a conceptual clarification of awe and wonder
Current Psychology, 2018
Awe and wonder are precious but elusive psychological states that are difficult to research experimentally. We conducted a first person phenomenological enquiry in an effort to explore awe and wonder conceptually. Awe is typically described as a state in which vastness and the need to adjust to new information is experienced. Based on a literature review and on observations from our phenomenological exploration we propose that vastness and need to adjust are not necessary, only possible characteristics of awe and wonder. Both phenomena are characterized by a range of other critical attributes that we with explored in our enquiry, such as receptiveness and quality of attention. They can also be differentiated on a number of dimensions-for instance by the extent to which they evoke the experience of a subject/object divide. We propose a set of qualifications to the existing concepts and discuss the relevance of awe and wonder in research settings where such approach-related capacities provide an important complement to the common mindset of skepticism and critique.
Towards a Theory of the Sublime and Aesthetic Awe
The Sublime Reader (ch. 37), 2019
This paper sketches my theory of the sublime and aesthetic awe. The chapter is found in the first comprehensive, historical anthology containing representative readings on the sublime: The Sublime Reader (Bloomsbury, 2019)