Reverence (emotion)

Last updated

Reverence is "a feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with awe; veneration". [1] Reverence involves a humbling of the self in respectful recognition of something perceived to be greater than the self.

Contents

The word "reverence" is often used in relationship with religion. This is because religion often stimulates this emotion through recognition of a god, the supernatural, and the ineffable. Like awe, it is an emotion in its own right, and can be felt outside of the realm of religion. [2]

Whereas awe may be characterized as an overwhelming "sensitivity to greatness," reverence is seen more as "acknowledging a subjective response to something excellent in a personal (moral or spiritual) way, but qualitatively above oneself". [3] Robert C. Solomon describes awe as passive, but reverence as active, noting that the feeling of awe (i.e., becoming awestruck) implies paralysis, whereas feelings of reverence are associated more with active engagement and responsibility toward that which one reveres. [4]

Nature, science, literature, philosophy, great philosophers, leaders, artists, art, music, wisdom, and beauty may each act as the stimulus and focus of reverence.

Theorists

Paul Woodruff

In his book "Reverence: Renewing a Forgotten Virtue," Paul Woodruff explores the contemporary concept of reverence. [5] He notes that both modern society and its discussions about ancient cultures in which reverence was prized, such as Greece and China, often lack a genuine understanding of reverence. [5] : 3  Woodruff defines reverence as the ability to feel awe directed at the transcendent, respect for others, and shame over one's own faults, when these emotions are appropriate. [5] : 8, 65  This definition encompasses respect, shame, and aspects. While recognizing the connection between reverence and religion, Woodruff argues that politics plays a significant role in this virtue. [5] : 4  His goal in the book is to dispel the common misconception that reverent emotions are exclusively tied to religion.

According to Woodruff, meaningful human life relies on ceremony and ritual, but "[w]ithout reverence, rituals are empty". [5] : 19  These ceremonial practices occur in various settings, including homes, meetings, voting, and religious contexts, shaping the backdrop for experiencing reverence. Because these are banal and commonplace, the emotion of reverence often fades without us noticing. [5] : 35  Woodruff contends that in a functioning society, reverence, ceremony, and respect remain indispensable even though their significance may go unnoticed. [5] : 36  He clarifies that it's not reverence itself but rather the concept of reverence that is absent. [5] : 36  Woodruff hopes for a renewed recognition of reverence in society. [5] : 38 

Woodruff asserts that true reverence pertains to aspects beyond human influence: the "ideal of unity," which transcends political concerns. [5] : 28  The object of reverence may vary, encompassing God, unity, or anything surpassing human capabilities. Woodruff emphasizes that reverence values truth itself more than any human creation that attempts to represent truth. [5] : 39  Furthermore, he posits that the primary focus of reverence is something that serves as a reminder of human limitations. [5] : 65 

Woodruff highlights the role of music, asserting that "[r]everence cannot be expressed in a creed; its most apt expression is in music". [5] : 123  He illustrates this idea through an analogy involving a quartet with varying skill levels performing a Mozart piece. In this scenario, reverence arises because: [5] : 48–49 

  1. The musicians collaborate harmoniously on a shared project
  2. Their endeavor involves a sense of ceremony
  3. They transcend personal ego during the performance
  4. They function within a well-defined hierarchy that is agreeable to all
  5. They collectively experience a sense of "inarticulate awe"

Woodruff believes "[a]rt speaks the language of reverence better than philosophy does" and connects most fluently with preexisting reverential instincts. [5] : 25 

In the presence of death, says Woodruff, an expectation of reverence is natural, though its expression is culturally-variant. [5] : 50  Religions come and go, but cultural expressions of reverence are constant. [5] : 54  "You need not believe in God to be reverent, but to develop an occasion for reverence you must share a culture with others, and this must support a degree of ceremony." [5] : 50  Religion is not required to provoke reverence, but rather religion depends on the emotion of reverence.

Paul Woodruff examines the historical significance of reverence as a virtue. In both Ancient Greek and Chinese civilizations, reverence was a force that upheld social order and harmony. [5] : 60  In Greek culture, reverence had roots in a myth crafted by Protagoras in which Zeus bestowed reverence and justice upon humanity so that society would survive. [5] : 57  In classical Greek society, as illustrated in its surviving literature, reverence served as a motivating force, encouraging people to act justly and humbly to contribute to societal improvement. The feeling of awe toward what transcends humanity helps people better respect one another. [5] : 63 

After examining classical Greek culture, Woodruff turns his attention to classical Chinese Confucian society, particularly the Analects, where he finds filial piety to express reverence in the family context. [5] : 103  He highlights the significance of the concept of " li ", which also encompasses civility and reverence. [5] : 105  There's a parallel between Greek and Chinese societies in that in both, notions of reverence flourished as polytheism gave way to agnosticism. In these changing circumstances, reverence endures and prospers because it addresses fundamental aspects of human life—family, hierarchy, and mortality. [5] : 110  Woodruff argues that deviating from tradition does not necessarily imply irreverence, and he critiques relativism, advocating instead that people critically evaluate all cultures and forms of reverence. [5] : 155 

Abraham Maslow

Abraham Maslow in his Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences , deals extensively with reverence. [6] Reverence is an ingredient in what he terms a peak experience, which is crucial to having a fulfilling life. Maslow states that "wonder, awe, reverence, humility, surrender, and even worship before the greatness of the experience are often reported" in peak experiences. [6] : 65  Religion is a possible, but not a necessary context for this. Indeed, religion can unfortunately sequester reverence: "'Religionizing' only one part of life secularizes the rest of it". [6] : 31  Maslow contends that religion seeks to access reverence through ritual, but that the familiarity of the ritual can deaden any reverent feelings. [6] : 34 

Albert Schweitzer

Albert Schweitzer sought for years for the basis of a new worldview. One day, while in a boat on the river in Gabon, it struck him with great force and clarity: "Reverence for Life" (In German: Ehrfurcht vor dem Leben). [7]

Empirical studies

Patient recovery

Empirical studies on reverence are scarce. One intriguing study examined a "sense of reverence in religious and secular contexts" in 177 patients following a coronary artery bypass. [8] The researchers sought to find if religious forms of reverence practiced through faith and prayer yielded similar results to secular forms of reverence in patient recovery. "Because reverence includes an affective as well as a cognitive component, we see it as a form of positive feeling/emotion associated with injection of the sacred into various worldviews." [8] [ page needed ] Such positive emotions were believed to help in patient recovery. They found that traditional religious involvement improved health outcomes, and secular reverence reduced the likelihood of postoperative complications, but that "[r]eligious reverence did not have the same beneficial effect as secular reverence on bypass recovery". [8] [ page needed ] They inferred that reverence "seems to enhance recovery following bypass". [8] [ page needed ]

Awe

Keltner and Haidt studied the importance of vastness and accommodation in experiencing awe. [9] "Vastness refers to anything that is experienced as being much larger than the self"; accommodation means "adjusting mental structures that cannot assimilate a new experience". [9] [ page needed ] Their research how awe is experienced through moral, spiritual, and aesthetic means, helps us understand reverence. Their study includes a survey of previous literature about awe "in religion, philosophy, sociology, and psychology" and "[r]elated states such as admiration, elevation, and the epiphanic experience". [9] [ page needed ]

Haidt notes that since Maslow [6] studied peak experiences, little empirical research has been done to examine such experiences and the moral transformations associated with emotions such as gratitude, elevation, awe, admiration, and reverence. [10] : 287  Haidt's own work in these areas suggests that potent feelings of reverence may be associated with the peak experiences accompanying moral transformation which "seem to push a mental ‘reset button,’ wiping out feelings of cynicism and replacing them with feelings of hope, love, and optimism, and a sense of moral inspiration". [10] : 287 

Art

Great artists sometimes give concrete form to culturally derived beliefs, values, and group identities that propose profound meaning and purpose. Reverence for artworks that instantiate such central aspects of culture can buffer the existential anxiety that follows from reminders of the inevitability of human mortality. [11] Across history, cultures have revered art as a "forum for representing in an enduring medium those individuals who are held up as embodiments of virtue and lasting significance". [11] : 123 

Transpersonality

From the standpoint of experiential personal construct psychology (EPCP), [12] Thomas and Schlutsmeyer suggest that "[r]everence felt in meaningful interpersonal connectedness is one starting point for the development of a larger sense of connection with the world and the many others (human and nonhuman) in it". [13] They call this "transpersonal reverence" and make a case for the role of reverence as "a goal of therapy, a sign of optimal functioning". [13] They believe a therapist must revere the patient and the patient must learn to revere others and themselves in order for the therapy to be effective.

Religion and music

David Pugmire's article, "The Secular Reception of Religious Music" explores the experience of reverence through music. [14] In particular he looks at how religious music has the capacity to instill emotions of reverence, awe, wonder, and veneration in secular people who lack the context to understand the transcendent through the religion associated with the music. "Sacred music seems to have a surprising power over unbelievers not just to quicken or delight them as other music does, but also to ply them, as little else can, with what might be called devotional feelings". [14] Even with this though, Pugmire argues that the secularist cannot fully comprehend the nature of sacred art including sacred music. "Its undoubted expressiveness can lead him at most to excesses of feeling, not to emotion in the fullest sense, i.e., emotion with appropriate objects sustained by appropriate judgments". [14]

Pugmire believes that reverence belongs to the range of emotions that can be classified in their devotional or sacred forms, "Emotions of reverence, solemnity, agape, hope, serenity, and ecstasy". [14] But this classification of emotions poses an interesting question: can any emotion be purely religious? "A central candidate for a distinctively religious emotion would be reverence". [14] But it is not entirely distinct from emotions that are not related to transcendence or religion. "Reverence is indeed graver, and an attitude in which one is more given over, than its secular approximations in the shape of approval or esteem or respect". [14] But this does not make it purely religious. Immanuel Kant "was able to claim reverence as our principal moral emotion without invoking any grounding theological basis for this". [14] "Similarly for its bracing sibling, awe: it figures in our experience of the sublime, of which Kant purports to find an entirely secular account." [14] To connect the secular and the sacred emotions Pugmire looks at the emotions which can be experienced equally in both contexts. These are "Love, humility, sorrow, pity, joy, serenity, ecstasy". [14] Pugmire then suggests that devotional emotion is "The transfiguring of mundane emotion into what one might call emotion of the last instance, to the reception and expression of which religious imagery is especially well-suited, and not accidentally". [14] The emotion of the last instance refers to the capacity of the emotional imagination to lose the sense of self and engage in the infinite and the ineffable. Pugmire suggests that religion "Provides a strikingly apt vocabulary for the expression of emotion of the last instance". [14] Reverence is perhaps the most critical of these "emotions of the last instance" and can be adequately accessed through religious music.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morality</span> Differentiation between right and wrong

Morality is the categorization of intentions, decisions and actions into those that are proper, or right, and those that are improper, or wrong. Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of conduct from a particular philosophy, religion or culture, or it can derive from a standard that is understood to be universal. Morality may also be specifically synonymous with "goodness", "appropriateness" or "rightness".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piety</span> Religious devotion or spirituality

Piety is a virtue which may include religious devotion or spirituality. A common element in most conceptions of piety is a duty of respect. In a religious context, piety may be expressed through pious activities or devotions, which may vary among countries and cultures.

Positive psychology is a field of psychological theory and research of optimal human functioning of people, groups, and institutions. It studies "positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions... it aims to improve quality of life."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham Maslow</span> American psychologist (1908–1970)

Abraham Harold Maslow was an American psychologist who created Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actualization. Maslow was a psychology professor at Brandeis University, Brooklyn College, New School for Social Research, and Columbia University. He stressed the importance of focusing on the positive qualities in people, as opposed to treating them as a "bag of symptoms". A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Maslow as the tenth most cited psychologist of the 20th century.

Moral psychology is a field of study in both philosophy and psychology. Historically, the term "moral psychology" was used relatively narrowly to refer to the study of moral development. Moral psychology eventually came to refer more broadly to various topics at the intersection of ethics, psychology, and philosophy of mind. Some of the main topics of the field are moral judgment, moral reasoning, moral sensitivity, moral responsibility, moral motivation, moral identity, moral action, moral development, moral diversity, moral character, altruism, psychological egoism, moral luck, moral forecasting, moral emotion, affective forecasting, and moral disagreement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religious naturalism</span> Naturalism in religion

Religious naturalism is a framework for religious orientation in which a naturalist worldview is used to respond to types of questions and aspirations that are parts of many religions. It has been described as "a perspective that finds religious meaning in the natural world."

Profane, or profanity in religious use may refer to a lack of respect for things that are held to be sacred, which implies anything inspiring or deserving of reverence, as well as behaviour showing similar disrespect or causing religious offense. The word is also used in a neutral sense for things or people not related to the sacred; for example profane history, profane literature, etc. In this sense it is contrasted with "sacred", with meaning similar to "secular".

A peak experience is an altered state of consciousness characterized by euphoria, often achieved by self-actualizing individuals. The concept was originally developed by Abraham Maslow in 1964, who described peak experiences as "rare, exciting, oceanic, deeply moving, exhilarating, elevating experiences that generate an advanced form of perceiving reality, and are even mystic and magical in their effect upon the experimenter." There are several unique characteristics of a peak experience, but each element is perceived together in a holistic manner that creates the moment of reaching one's full potential. Peak experiences can range from simple activities to intense events; however, it is not necessarily about what the activity is, but the ecstatic, blissful feeling that is being experienced during it.

The wisdom of repugnance or appeal to disgust, also known informally as the yuck factor, is the belief that an intuitive negative response to some thing, idea, or practice should be interpreted as evidence for the intrinsically harmful or evil character of that thing. Furthermore, it refers to the notion that wisdom may manifest itself in feelings of disgust towards anything which lacks goodness or wisdom, though the feelings or the reasoning of such 'wisdom' may not be immediately explicable through reason.

Self-actualization, in Maslow's hierarchy of needs, is the highest personal aspirational human need in the hierarchy. It represents where one's potential is fully realized after more basic needs, such as for the body and the ego, have been fulfilled. Long received in psychological teaching as the peak of human needs, Maslow later added the category self-transcendence.

Secular spirituality is the adherence to a spiritual philosophy without adherence to a religion. Secular spirituality emphasizes the inner peace of the individual, rather than a relationship with the divine. Secular spirituality is made up of the search for meaning outside of a religious institution; it considers one's relationship with the self, others, nature, and whatever else one considers to be the ultimate. Often, the goal of secular spirituality is living happily and/or helping others.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the human self:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Haidt</span> American social psychologist (born 1963)

Jonathan David Haidt is an American social psychologist and author. He is the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at the New York University Stern School of Business. His main areas of study are the psychology of morality and moral emotions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Admiration</span> Social emotion

Admiration is a social emotion felt by observing people of competence, talent, or skill exceeding standards. Admiration facilitates social learning in groups. Admiration motivates self-improvement through learning from role-models.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Awe</span> Emotion comparable to wonder

Awe is an emotion comparable to wonder but less joyous. On Robert Plutchik's wheel of emotions awe is modeled as a combination of surprise and fear.

<i>The Happiness Hypothesis</i> 2006 book by Jonathan Haidt

The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom is a 2006 book written by American social psychologist Jonathan Haidt. In it, Haidt poses several "Great Ideas" on happiness espoused by thinkers of the past—such as Plato, Buddha and Jesus—and examines them in the light of contemporary psychological research, extracting from them any lessons that still apply to our modern lives. Central to the book are the concepts of virtue, happiness, fulfillment, and meaning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insignificance</span> Emotional feeling or mental state

People may face feelings of insignificance due to a number of causes, including having low self-esteem, being depressed, living in a huge, impersonal city, comparing themselves to wealthy celebrity success stories, working in a huge bureaucracy, or being in awe of a natural wonder.

Moral foundations theory is a social psychological theory intended to explain the origins of and variation in human moral reasoning on the basis of innate, modular foundations. It was first proposed by the psychologists Jonathan Haidt, Craig Joseph, and Jesse Graham, building on the work of cultural anthropologist Richard Shweder. More recently, Mohammad Atari, Jesse Graham, and Jonathan Haidt have revised some aspects of the theory and developed new measurement tools. The theory has been developed by a diverse group of collaborators and popularized in Haidt's book The Righteous Mind. The theory proposes that morality is "more than one thing", first arguing for five foundations, and later expanding for six foundations :

<i>Religio</i> Latin origin of the modern lexeme religion

The Latin term religiō, the origin of the modern lexeme religion, is of ultimately obscure etymology. It is recorded beginning in the 1st century BC, i.e. in Classical Latin at the end of the Roman Republic, notably by Cicero, in the sense of "scrupulous or strict observance of the traditional cultus". In classic antiquity, it meant conscientiousness, sense of right, moral obligation, or duty towards anything and was used mostly in secular or mundane contexts. In religious contexts, it also meant the feelings of "awe and anxiety" caused by gods and spirits that would help Romans "live successfully".

Elevation is an emotion elicited by witnessing actual or imagined virtuous acts of remarkable moral goodness. It is experienced as a distinct feeling of warmth and expansion that is accompanied by appreciation and affection for the individual whose exceptional conduct is being observed. Elevation motivates those who experience it to open up to, affiliate with, and assist others. Elevation makes an individual feel lifted up and optimistic about humanity.

References

  1. ↑ "reverence". Dictionary.com.
  2. ↑ Gibbons, Kendyl R. (July 23, 2012). "Primal reverence". UU World. XXVII No. 2 (Summer 2012). Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations . Retrieved July 24, 2012. Reverence is an organic human experience that requires no supernatural explanations.'
  3. ↑ Roberts, Robert C. (2003). Emotions: An essay in aid of moral psychology. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 268.
  4. ↑ Solomon, Robert C. (2002). Spirituality for the skeptic: The thoughtful love of life. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 40.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Woodruff, Paul (2001). Reverence: renewing a forgotten virtue. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Maslow, Abraham H. (1964). Religions, Values, and Peak-Experiences. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University Press.
  7. ↑ Schweitzer, Albert (2009) [1931]. Out of My Life and Thought: An Autobiography. Translated by Lemke, Antje Bultmann. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 154–55.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Ai, A. L.; Wink, P.; Tice, T. N.; Bolling, S. F.; Shearer, M. (2009). "Prayer and reverence in naturalistic, aesthetic, and socio-moral contexts predicted fewer complications following coronary artery bypass". Journal of Behavioral Medicine. 32 (6): 570–581. doi:10.1007/s10865-009-9228-1. PMID   19856203. S2CID   34733299.
  9. 1 2 3 Keltner, D.; Haidt, J. (2003). "Approaching awe, a moral, spiritual, and aesthetic emotion". Cognition and Emotion. 17 (2): 297–314. doi:10.1080/02699930302297. PMID   29715721. S2CID   1101237.
  10. 1 2 Haidt, J. (2000). "The positive emotion of elevation". Prevention and Treatment. 3. doi:10.1037/1522-3736.3.1.33c. Archived from the original on 2000-12-13.
  11. 1 2 Landau, M. J.; Sullivan, D.; Solomon, S. (2010). "On graves and graven images: A terror management analysis of the psychological functions of art". European Review of Social Psychology. 21: 114–154. doi:10.1080/10463283.2010.513266. S2CID   144890110.
  12. ↑ Leitner, L. M.; Pfenninger, D. T. (1994). "Sociality and optimal functioning". Journal of Constructivist Psychology. 7 (2): 119–135. doi:10.1080/10720539408405073.
  13. 1 2 Thomas, Jill C.; Schlutsmeyer, Mark W. (2004). "A place for the aesthetic in experiential personal construct psychology". Journal of Constructivist Psychology. 17 (4): 313–335. doi:10.1080/10720530490483239. S2CID   145759101.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pugmire, David (2006). "The Secular Reception of Religious Music". Philosophy. 81 (315): 65–79. doi:10.1017/S0031819106000040. S2CID   170268208.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.