A philosopher explores the transformative role of wonder and awe in an uncertain world.

Wonder and awe are at the core of the deepest questions of life. Wonderstruck shows how these feelings respond to our fundamental need to understand ourselves and everything around us, and how they allow us to engage with the world as if experiencing it for the first time.

Drawing from the latest psychological insights on emotions, Helen De Cruz argues that wonder and awe are emotional forces that motivate us to explore and discover new things, and that humanity has consciously cultivated these feelings in cultural spheres such as religion, science, and magic.

Following the thread that connects wonder and awe with philosophy, humanities, and sciences, De Cruz offers new perspectives on figures such as Plato, Aristotle, Adam Smith, William James, Rachel Carson, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Abraham Heschel.

Along the way, she explains how these unique feelings empower us to be open-minded, to experience joy and hope, and to be resilient in the face of personal problems and global challenges.

Pages: 232, Year of Publication: 0115, Dimensions: 14x14cm