This book presents a study of the various feelings of awe and wonder experienced by astronauts during space flight. It summarizes the results of two experimental, interdisciplinary studies that employ methods from neuroscience, psychology, phenomenology and simulation technology, and it argues for a non-reductionist approach to cognitive science.

Autorentext

Author Shaun Gallagher: Shaun Gallagher is the Lillian and Morrie Moss Professor of Excellence in Philosophy at the University of Memphis, USA. He has a secondary appointment at the University of Hertfordshire, UK, and is Honorary Professor of Philosophy at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Inhalt

Chapter 1. Introduction: How to study subjective experiences PART I: STUDYING AWE AND WONDER Chapter 2: Hermeneutical explorations Chapter 3: Awe and wonder in a simulated space flight: Experiment 1 Chapter 4: Neurophenomenology and simulation: Philosophical ground control and a sharpening of our tools Chapter 5: Redesigning Plato's cave: Experiment 2 PART II: INSIGHTS AND EXTENSIONS Chapter 6: The phenomenology of unprecedented experience: Ontological and cognitive wonder Chapter 7: Science and science fiction: How popular culture shapes our expectations about space Chapter 8: The very idea of non-reductionist science