“Indifference to the sublime wonder of living is the root of sin” (Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism). Heschel define wonder as “radical amazement.” Amazement leads us to ask “How can this be?” which in turn spurs us to seek knowledge, an explanation. This seeking is the practice of science. Contrary to the belief that science and religion are incompatible, however, is the observation that scientific discoveries do not end our sense of wonder, but instead increase our radical amazement that such phenomena exist. The best scientific writing conveys and inspires this sense of wonder. I write fiction, which is spurred by our sense of wonder about human nature. Fiction writers turn to imagination, not science, for explanations, but the motivation is the same. And whatever the answer — a story’s end — radical amazement remains. Nothing is fully explained, which is why the tales I like best, whether I’m writing or reading, are those with open endings. More thoughts about writing at REFLECTIONS.
