Astonishment (Philosophy) Origin, Concept and What It Consists of

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Alexander Pearson
Astonishment (Philosophy) Origin, Concept and What It Consists of

The amazement in philosophy It is the feeling that illuminates the mind, allowing the human being to come out of the shadows with respect to his own existence, that of the environment and that of the universe. Together with the observation and contemplation of what surrounds us, it is what allows us to find the answers to what puzzles the intellect of man.

In this way, true wisdom is reached. Plato considers that the astonishment is fundamental because thanks to this the investigation by the first principles appears, and thus the philosophical thought is born. This Platonic heritage was taken up by other later thinkers, such as Aristotle, and much closer in time, Heidegger.

The aforementioned are not the only ones who have applied this concept exclusively. It is also used by the philosopher and linguist Ludwig Wittgenstein, but calling it "perplexity." It is this perplexity that gives rise to every philosophical question.

Article index

  • 1 Origin
    • 1.1 For Plato
    • 1.2 For Aristotle 
  • 2 Concept
    • 2.1 Heideggerian wonder
    • 2.2 Encounter with the truth
  • 3 What does?
  • 4 References 

Source

The concept of amazement was born in Ancient Greece and has its foundations in two positions. The first is that of Plato, for whom amazement is what allows the truth to be revealed. It is what dissipates the shadow by finding the original light; once found it becomes the meaning of existence.

The second position is that of Aristotle, through which he considers that astonishment is an awareness of the need to investigate. This leads to inquiring to resolve all the doubts that appear from reality.

For Plato

It is in the Dialogue Theaetetus where Plato, through Socrates, assures that the astonishment felt by Theetus is characteristic of the philosopher. It is a state of the natural soul that is experienced involuntarily.

In addition, he adds that the genealogy of Iris as the daughter of Taumante is correct. It should be remembered that Taumante is associated with the verb thaumazein (θαυμάζειν) in Greek, which means to be amazed, marvel.

On the other hand, Iris is a messenger of the gods and is the goddess of the rainbow. Thus, she is the daughter of the amazing and proclaims the pact that exists between gods and men. In this way, Plato makes it clear that the philosopher is the one who mediates between the heavenly and the earthly.

Likewise, based on Socrates' dialogue with Glaucón in The Republic, Other concepts appear, such as that the astonishment that is passive generates the action of the love for wisdom. Only when the philosopher is amazed can he go from that passive state to the active state of love.

In short, for Plato amazement is the origin of knowledge. It is that skill or art that leads to investigate the first principles. Furthermore, it is prior to knowledge and prior to all wisdom, and it is necessary for it to appear in the soul for the ambition of knowledge to arise..

For Aristotle 

A disciple of Plato, Aristotle also deals with the subject of wonder. For him, philosophy is not born from an impulse of the soul; on the contrary, things manifest themselves and become instigators of problems, thus prompting man to investigate.

The pressure exerted by these problems Aristotle calls them in his Metaphysics "The coercion of the truth." It is this coercion that does not allow astonishment to remain in an answer, but is succeeded by another astonishment and yet another. So once it has started, it cannot be stopped.

That amazement, admiration or thaumazein It has three levels, as specified in its Metaphysics:

1- The one that happens before the things that appear immediately between the strangers.

2- The amazement at major issues, such as the particularities of the Sun, the Moon and the stars.

3- The one that happens in front of the origin of everything.

He also maintains that man has in his nature the desire to know; it leads him towards the divine. However, for this force to lead to truth, it must be done rationally. This is according to logical and linguistic rules.

Concept

It is from the conceptions of Plato and Aristotle that the German philosopher Martin Heidegger took up this theme in depth as early as the 20th century..

Heideggerian wonder

For Heidegger, astonishment in philosophy appears when the truth is found. However, this encounter does not occur in the supersensible, but it happens in this world; that is, it is related to the things themselves.

He maintains that all objects are covered in a fog that makes them indifferent or opaque to man. When a sudden manifestation or revelation of an object, a thing or some part of the world occurs, amazement appears.

Encounter with the truth

So, astonishment is an experience that allows the encounter with the truth. This can happen from watching the ocean at sunset to seeing a cell under a microscope. Both facts are manifested in all their splendor when they are discovered to the senses.

In this way, Heidegger affirms that the truth is about unhiding or uncovering the reality that is veiled. That is, a veil is lifted that allows one to reach enlightenment.

On the other hand, consider that the astonishment is spontaneous. However, it can appear from a long preparation, which can be carried out not only on reality, but on the human being himself..

This implies that astonishment in philosophy reveals, more than the hidden reality, the own confusion in which man finds himself, specifically in the processes related to perception and individualization..

What does it consist of?

When speaking of amazement in everyday life, reference is made to perplexity, to surprise at the irruption of the unpredictable.

It is associated with some object, situation or event, exterior or interior, that leaves the person mired in strangeness and, in some situations, even without the ability to respond.

It is in this sense that it can be linked to astonishment in philosophy, since it is through this feeling that the process of seeking truth is set in motion. This can be found from the beginning of man.

In every culture, both Eastern and Western, the human being has stopped before the inexplicable. He has been amazed at the universe, the stars and the stars, at life on Earth and at his own nature.

It is that astonishment that has led him to seek the answers to understand himself and his surroundings, to find meaning in his existence and that of all the beings that accompany him..

References

  1. Aristotle (1966). Aristotle's Methapysics. Translated with Commentaires and Glossary by Hippocrates G. Apostle. Indiana University Press.
  2. Boller, David (2001). Plato and Wonder. In. Extraordinary Times, IWM Junior Visiting Fellows Conferences, Vol.11, 13. Vienna. Recovered from iwm.at.
  3. Elliot Stone, Brad (2006). Curiosity as the Thief of Wonder An Essay on Heidegger's Critique of the Ordinary Conception of time. KronoScope 6 (2) pp.205-229. Recovered from researchgate.net
  4. Gómez Ramos, Antonio (2007). Astonishment, Experience and Form: The three constitutive moments of Philosophy. Convivium No. 20, pp. 3-22. Faculty of Philosophy, University of Barcelona. Recovered from raco.cat.
  5. Ellis, Jonathan; Guevara, Daniel (edit) (2012). Wittgenstein and the Philosophy of Mind. Base on a conference held in June 2007 at the University of California. Santa Cruz. Oxford University Press. New York.
  6. Engel, S. Morris (2002). Contemporary Philosophy in The Study of Philosophy - 5th edition-. chap. 9. pp. 347. Collegiate Press. Columbia. San Diego. USES.
  7. Held, Klaus (2005). Wonder, Time, and Idealization - On the Greek Beginning of Philosophy in Epoché: A Journal for the History of Philosophy. Vol 9, Issue 2, pp. 185-196. Recovered from pdcnet.org.
  8. Ordóñez, Leonardo (2013). Notes for a philosophy of wonder. Tinkuy No. 20, pp. 138-146. Section d'Études hispaniques. Université de Montréal. Recovered from dialnet.unirioja.es.
  9. Plato (1973). Theaetetus. Ed. John McDowell. Reprint 2014. Oxford University Press. Recovered from philpapers.org.
  10. Plato (1985). Republic. Gredos Classical Library. Madrid.
  11. Ugalde Quintana, Jeannet (2017). Astonishment, the original affection of philosophy. Areté, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 167-181. Lime. Recovered from scielo.org.pe.

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