Wonder: Level-7 in Inquiry

Formulation

The final and highest requirement is to create an object for inquiry and to shape the judgement process.

Wonder is state in which we move from the obvious and seemingly understood into the unformulated and seemingly unknowable. Mystery engenders wondering, and wondering is the driving force in inquiry. Both Aristotle and Socrates identified wonder as the beginning of wisdom and philosophy. Mystery being endless, wonder is likewise endless.
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A person is embedded within a reality that seems partly given and defined and partly undifferentiated and non-represented. As a whole, reality seems both unbounded and undefinable, endlessly filled and impossible to grasp as a whole. The issue is therefore how and where it is to be engaged with.

Although wonder arises spontaneously when something quite new and singular is presented, the most mundane phenomenon can excite wonder when perceived as a mystery. As a result, many reflective commentators now affirm that wonder is the well-spring from which scientific inquiry arises. Einstein, for example, wrote: The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom the emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand wrapped in awe, is as good as dead—his eyes are closed.

Wonder appears to be the source of creativity in the research process. It allows methods, however routine, to be pursued in a fresh and innovative way. The career professional is liable to routinize research so as to be efficient and maintain quality—wonder is less needed if everything is given. However, a dedicated scientist never forgets that imagination and unpredictability remain essential elements for discovery.

Etymology:

Old English wundor = marvelous thing, the object of astonishment; from Proto-Germanic wundran of unknown origin. In Middle English (late 13c), wonder also came to mean the emotion associated with such a sight, typically associated with feelings of awe and beauty rather than curiosity.

Function: To focus the urge to know.
Wonder opens up to the spirit of curiosity, both in terms of questions and answers, without providing any controls on what might emerge.

Wonder is commonly associated with experiences of awe, surprise and beauty.

It follows that the proper role of scepticism is not to debunk but to reaffirm mystery and encourage wonder.

Cumulation: Wonder provides a willingness for any and all of the inquiring elements and processes to be actively applied. But wonder is «about» something i.e. it must be channeled and focused around an object—which will be some data, concept, comparison, measurement, relation and/or judgement that has been made.

Features

Uncertainty Puzzle: What seeks to be known? How can we know it?
An inquirer wants to wonder about something that can be known in principle. Wonder exists as a sense of psychosocial readiness to which dedicated inquirers respond. Inquiry is the art of the soluble and so wondering about methods is also required.

Inherent Error: Asking the wrong question.
Wonder addresses the unknown...but it may also be addressing the unknowable. It is hard to be sure until some success has resulted whether or not wonder is constructive or distracting.

When you come across something out of the ordinary, there is no obvious line of inquiry. Rushing in is unwise. The sensible and natural initial stage is simply to wonder about the phenomenon and how it might be investigated.

Use of Numbers: Not relevant.

Locus of Control: Internal-personal-subjective
Wonder-L7 is a state that we each allow our selves to enter and enjoy. So it is under personal control, and naturally subjective.

Relation to Willingness Domain:

Wondering involves willingness (RL7). There is always a choice in the face of the unknown: either to close off and reject mystery or to confront it and channel wonder. That means accepting the accompanying discomfort of ignorance and the pleasure of a questioning curiosity.

The effect of wonder is uncertain. In conjunction with judgement-L6, it activates actual inquiry. Through inquiry, possibilities may emerge that are ultimately disruptive, socially or scientifically, a danger embodied in proverbs like curiosity killed the cat.

Wonder-L7 is charged by curiosity and possessed by a focus—which distinguishes it from imaginative reverie (i.e. L7 within Experience-PH4) or openness (i.e. L7 within Communication-PH5). However, all L7 entities in Primary Hierarchies seem rather similar because they are an experiential yet selfless manifestation of their Domain.

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There are no more levels logically or practically required, so wonder-L7 completes the hierarchy.

• Review the framework.

Originally posted: 23-Aug-2015.