The Gray Area with Sean Illing The science of awe
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May 4, 2026 
Dacher Keltner, UC Berkeley psychology professor who studies emotions like awe, speaks about why awe matters. He explains how awe quiets the self and reconnects us to others, nature, and meaning. They explore music, moral courage, grief, cultural differences, and simple practices to invite awe into daily life.
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Awe Is Its Own Emotion
- Awe is a distinct emotion that arises when we encounter something vast and mysterious and is different from wonder, beauty, and fear.
- Dacher Keltner summarizes decades of research showing awe has unique physiology, vocalizations, and neural signatures tied to reward and vagal activation.
Awe Shrinks The Ego
- Awe quiets the self by downregulating the brain's default mode network, reducing self-focus and rumination.
- Keltner links reduced self-activation to vagal tone increases and greater openness to surroundings, social connection, and curiosity.
Awe Comes From Other People
- Everyday awe is often social rather than solely natural or artistic; people most reliably reported awe triggered by other people's virtue, courage, or shared movement.
- Keltner collected global stories and found social triggers outpaced nature in many accounts.
