Abstract
THE DECLINE OF WONDER IN ADULT ONTOLOGY Wonder is generally recognized as the fiefdom of the young. As children, it seemed as if we regularly found ourselves enrapt in a state of awe. Dumbstruck, overpowered, yet ultimately transfixed by some external phenomena, we would regularly exist simply marveling at things from our surroundings. This amazing character of experience, once a regular fixture of our way of experiencing the world, has gradually ebbed — receded to the point where we barely experience wonder at all. Yet, where did this formative experience go? Did it gradually vanish as we assumed greater knowledge and mastery of our surroundings? Did it abandon us as we became routinely familiar with an increasingly finite set of rote experiences offered by our environment? Or was it at odds with an instrumental perspective of the world: a mindset we were expected to adopt in order to become effective adults — one that sees all objects as tools and stepping stones to improve our efficacy?
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