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comment by humanodon
humanodon  ·  4193 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Religion and Our Evolution

I know that many animals can feel surprise and shock and also curiosity, but are there any other animals in which awe has been observed? From the perspective of someone who knows very little about animal behaviors and how human behaviors have developed, it seems like awe or at least reverence plays a role in the development of religions or the desire to worship something greater than oneself.





theadvancedapes  ·  4193 days ago  ·  link  ·  

It would be super hard to test whether other animals feel a sense of awe or revere something bigger than oneself. Sometimes I've thought chimpanzees feel it. But I can't be sure. It is even harder than trying to infer what a chimpanzee is thinking about death.

humanodon  ·  4193 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I thought as much, since it's hard enough to quantify those things as people. Anyway, it's interesting to me to think about these threads, as is done in your post.