Spirituality is a Spandrel

April 1, 2023 4:32 PM

The desire for connection and belonging, to nature and to other people; the feeling of being part of something larger than ourselves; the appreciation of beauty; the experience of awe—all are byproducts of other traits that had evolutionary benefit. Another aspect of spirituality is “the creative transcendent,” a name I give to that exhilarating, soaring sensation when we produce something new in the world, discover something new, find ourselves in a state of pure seeing. Painters, musicians, dancers, novelists, scientists, and all of us have experienced the creative transcendent. from The Spiritual Materialist by Alan Lightman [Nautilus; ungated]
posted by chavenet (2 comments total)

This is really beautiful and feels very much in line with the kind of wonder-steeped-in-science thinking that I found so very mind-expanding during a formative-years reading of Lightman's very good novel Einstein's Dreams.
posted by heyitsgogi at 1:45 AM on April 2, 2023 [2 favorites]

It took me a while to get to reading this. I liked it a lot - I like the idea of a flow state having the potential to be more special in the right setting, or with the right task.
posted by harriet vane at 4:56 AM on April 10, 2023