For thousands of years, it had been nature--and its…
““For thousands of years, it had been nature--and its supposed creator--that had had a monopoly on awe. It had been the icecaps, the deserts, the volcanoes and the glaciers that had given us a sense of finitude and limitation and had elicited a feeling in which fear and respect coagulated into a strangely pleasing feeling of humility, a feeling which the philosophers of the eighteenth century had famously termed the sublime. But then had come a transformation to which we were still the heirs… Over the course of the nineteenth century, the dominant catalyst for that feeling of the sublime had ceased to be nature. We were now deep in the era of the technological sublime, when awe could most powerfully be invoked not by forests or icebergs but by supercomputers, rockets and particle accelerators. We were now almost exclusively amazed by ourselves.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
The source of awe shifted from natural wonders to human-made technological achievements, creating a new kind of humility and reverence.
In simple terms: Awe now comes from technology rather than nature.
Key Takeaway
Recognize and reflect on the impact of technology on our sense of wonder.
Themes
philosophy
technology
human experience
humility
awe
Mood
contemplative
thoughtful
Type
philosophical
reflective
When to use this quote
- education
- science museums
- public policy debates
- personal reflection
Key Concepts
sublime
technological awe
anthropocentrism
Questions to Reflect On
- How does technology reshape our perception of the natural world?
- Can we balance awe for nature and technology?
A Different Perspective
The technological sublime can obscure environmental appreciation.