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) or “exaptation” (in other words, is it an accidental by-product)?
• Gobekli Tepe, the world’s oldest temple, has massive anthropoid monoliths which, when struck with your palm, emit an eerie moan or gong sound: experiencing this during dim lighting, burning incense, animal sacrifices must have been an incredibly awe-inducing experience!  Such an experience could unite the group, draw them closer, make them feel like they were led and protected by a supernatural being … all of these outcomes would confer an evolutionary advantage if/when the group faced an external threat
• does awe play into spiritual/religious experiences today?  We talked specifically about people who deconvert but still want to be “spiritual-but-not-religious,“ as well as proponents/adherents of Intelligent Design ideology
• humans are inclined to seeing purpose and agency, because of two peculiar cognitive processes (“software”) that have evolved in the human brain: the “promiscuous teleology” and “hypersensitive agency” detection systems.

As always, tell us your thoughts on this topic …

Find out more about Dr. Kutter Callaway at his personal web-page or faculty web-page. Learn more about Dr. Justin Barrett at the web-page for his new professional outlet … Blueprint 1543 … as well as to a video library in which he explains a variety of aspects of cognitive anthropology.

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy our previous episode with Dr. Justin Barrett, in which we talked at length about the “promiscuous teleology” and “hypersensitive agency detection” systems in human evolution, or our episode with Dr. Seth Hart addressing how even atheists cannot avoid invoking teleology (purpose, design, directedness) when speaking about biology (a prime example of the promiscuous teleology detection system?).  Or check out our collection of episodes which focus specifically on the religious experience and spiritual encounters.

Episode image by Memory Catcher from Pixabay.

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