Subscribe now

Humans

Awe review: Neglected feeling of awe could help battle climate change

We pay little attention to the feeling of awe, but, as Dacher Keltner's new book argues, it can make our lives more meaningful – and could even help us engage with huge problems like the climate crisis

By Sarah Phillips

4 January 2023

F6T2WJ Caucasian skier on mountaintop, Mont Blanc, Chamonix, France

Mountain peaks are a sure way to create feelings of awe

Tetra Images, LLC/Alamy

Awe

Dacher Keltner (Allen Lane)

IN JANUARY 2019, when Dacher Keltner was present at his younger brother Rolf’s bedside during the last moments of his life, he felt many things. Perhaps the most surprising was awe: “I felt small. Quiet. Humble. Pure. The boundaries that separated me from the outside world faded.”

Awe is something that Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, has now considered extensively. In 1988, when he asked his mentor Paul Ekman …

To continue reading, subscribe today with our introductory offers

View introductory offers

No commitment, cancel anytime*

Offer ends 14th June 2023.

*Cancel anytime within 14 days of payment to receive a refund on unserved issues.

Inclusive of applicable taxes (VAT)

or

Existing subscribers

Sign in to your account