How Wonder Works
We feel wonder “when something quite new and singular is presented… [and] memory cannot, from all its stores, cast up any image that nearly resembles this strange appearance” – Adam Smith, Moral Philosopher
Jesse Prinz (Professor of philosophy and Director of the Committee for Interdisciplinary Science Studies at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York) explains the origins of wonder and explores why it might just be humanity’s most important emotion.