THE FUSE

The eclipse observed throughout Europe this week evoked different emotions among those who witnessed it, including awe. Awe is believed to be an emotion, a moral emotion, and according to some, part of the “other-praising” branch of the moral emotions. We know awe is important because moments when we truly feel it can create lifelong memories. The most intense feeling of awe that I experienced on the edge of Ireland’s Gaeltacht, among the wildness of Galway, was an experience of awe that aligns with one of the most common elicitors: witnessing something powerful in nature.