Episode Details

An experimental psychologist and a theologian with a PhD in psychology give us their perspectives on the emotion of awe and its role in the spiritual/religious experience.

Last week, we explained why we decided to look more closely at the emotion of awe and its role in the spiritual / religious experience, as well as how scientists measure this emotion (external physiological and behavioral changes; internal changes in emotion, perception).  We also heard a personal story of someone whose life was altered dramatically by his experiences during a solar eclipse.

This week, we talked to two scholars, one of them an experimental psychologist (Dr. Justin Barrett), and the other a theologian with PhD training in psychology (Dr. Kutter Callaway).  Our conversation with them covered a lot of diverse territory:

• the distinct overlap between the experiences had by a non-religious person during a solar eclipse, and a new religious convert having a “born-again” experience during a church revival rally
• Emmanuel Kant, the sublime, the numinous
• awe can be measured/experienced in six dimensions:
  • altered time perception
  • sense of self diminishing
  • sense of connectedness beyond the self (to people, the university, …. or deity)
  • sense of vastness
  • physical sensations like goosebumps
  • need for accommodation
• awe can be mixed with other emotions which modify the experience and give it a positive or negative impact
  • … with fear (it’s not just overwhelming …. can also be scary, terrifying)
  • … with affection
  • … with surprise
  • … joy
• awe falls under the umbrella of “positive psychology” (some people might think psychologists only look at dysfunction like depression or schizophrenia), and thus can promote well-being at the individual and societal levels
• awe can have impact on social dominance orientation (aka, racism), and can be manipulated when presenting an ideology (protests, rallies)
• can animals experience awe (given that some species seem to experience happiness, sadness, grief, gratitude)?
• if this is a uniquely human thing, why did humans evolve this complex response (or why were we given it)?
• is it “just” an evolutionary spandrel (one of the triangular spaces between two arches in a cathedral)