Awe

The emotion awe is experienced in response to stimuli that are unaccounted for by one’s current conceptual understanding of the world, that expand one’s scope of awareness far beyond typical day-to-day experience, or that evoke thoughts of the great, yet unknown. Common stimuli that induce awe include novel panoramic views; especially dramatic sunsets and night skies; remarkable natural phenomena such as lightning, tornados, and the northern lights; newly experienced products of the visual arts, architecture, music, dance, and literature; and extraordinary human actions and accomplishments.

These experiences may be more or less common as a category and understood at a scientific or logical level, but specific instances can nonetheless evoke amazement and wonder at that which is fundamentally unknown or beyond belief. The theorized main feature ...