Curiosity, Awe and Wonder - The Emotions That Open Our Mind

Explore the profound connections between epistemic emotions and cognitive development in this 2-hour seminar led by CLEA research director Francis Heylighen. Delve into how curiosity drives knowledge acquisition, awe challenges our understanding through cognitive accommodation, and wonder bridges these fundamental emotional states. Examine the evolution from traditional religious interpretations of awe to its modern scientific context as a catalyst for exploring infinite potential. Learn how the contemporary scientific worldview, departing from Newtonian mechanistic perspectives, embraces these emotions as essential tools for understanding our evolving universe. Discover practical approaches to cultivating awe and wonder through natural landscapes, artistic beauty, complex patterns, and mathematical concepts. Gain insights from Heylighen's expertise in complex systems, collective intelligence, and the emergence of cognition, all presented through an action-oriented ontological framework that emphasizes interactions over static elements. Join this thought-provoking session, available both on the VUB campus in Brussels and online via Zoom, to understand how these emotions contribute to the Enlightenment's vision of unlimited progress in human understanding.