Wonder: The Passion That Opens Learning

The chapter's central question

Wonder is the passion that captures attention when one first encounters a new or unusual object. I have yet to judge whether it is beneficial or harmful to me, so I am ahead of love and hate. It is the beginning of knowledge in that it allows the mind to focus on the object and learn more about it, but if you only pursue newness, you may continue to get caught up in trivial things.

Read the complete essay

Descartes selected the six basic human passions (wonder, love, hate, desire, joy, and sadness), and among them, he placed 'Wonder/Admiration' in the first place.

Wonder has a unique characteristic that makes it crucially different from all other emotions. Love or hate involves a calculation of likes and dislikes, such as 'Is this beneficial or harmful to me?', but wonder is a state in which the brain stops being purely overwhelmed by the 'new and unfamiliar object itself.'

� When you encounter a strange flower or a wondrous aurora that you have never seen before while walking down the street, your heart beats as usual, but the animal spirit of your brain is concentrated in the pineal gland, imprinting the object deeply in your mind. Descartes praised ‘wonder as the noblest gift of God that initiates knowledge, science, and all philosophical inquiry.’ A soul that has lost its sense of wonder is an old soul.

Context and nuance

Descartes' 『Passions of the Soul』 asks how the mind and body interact, what physiological processes occur through passions, and how free judgment can deal with them. What makes this work unique is that mechanistic physiology and moral training coexist in one book.

If we unconditionally celebrate wonder as a creative good, we miss Descartes' warning. If there is too little, you will not be able to learn anything new, and if there is too much, you will be endlessly surprised by even explainable things and will not be able to move forward with rational inquiry. Good wonder shifts attention from unfamiliar admiration to causal inquiry.

Do not oversimplify it this way

The description of the pineal gland and the zoonotic glands is a historical hypothesis of 17th century physiology. Calling animal energy the same thing as today's neurotransmitters or action potentials erases the differences in time. Although Descartes' scientific explanation has been revised, it is still worth reading for his critical awareness of body changes, subjective experience, and preparation for action as a single process.

Philosophy in life

Have you ever been right before a presentation when your heart was pounding and your hands were shaking, and the more you urged yourself to “Please stop!” the more your body stiffened?

Recovering childlike ‘wonder’: Once a day, observe with curious eyes the trees on your way to work or the sunset you used to see every day, as if you were seeing them for the first time in your life.

Primary-source guide

Primary guide: The Passions of the Soul, especially articles 27–50, 53, and 153–161.

Pathos Editorial · Reviewed 2026-09-12