Skepticism And Wonder: A Compatible Relationship

Does a sense of awe or wonder at the universe contradict an intellectual skepticism that refuses to believe in something until proof or strong evidence is unveiled?  In my almost two years at college I have encountered at least one professor and several students who heavily emphasize wonder and imply that it is not only ontologically better to have wonder about some things than it is to have knowledge about them but that wonder is a reliable guide to truth.

Wonder is subjectively experienced.  Of course the subjectivity in perceiving wonder does not mean that there is no thing or concept that, if we properly viewed reality, we would know is inherently awe-inducing.  I hope that the individuals in my college that I mentioned will realize that if they haven't already.  However, wonder can still lead to a grand sense of subjective self-fulfillment.  It can seem pleasurable, seductive, and intuitive.  But none of this makes it a revealer of reality.

Someone might be attracted to scientism or Islam by wonder, but these worldviews are demonstrably false.  Unlike what some pretend is true, the presence of wonder is not an indicator of truth and epistemological skepticism does not exclude wonder from being a potential motivation for discovering truth.  Philosophy, science, and theology do not oppose a sense of wonder but can instead serve as great amplifiers of them.  Wonder can allure a skeptic and motivate him or her to investigate, think about, discover, and celebrate facts; it can drive a theologian to intellectually ponder Biblical concepts; it can awaken or rejuvenate the heart of an intellectually or emotionally numb person.

Wonder is something that certain passages of the Bible seem to appeal to (for example, Psalm 19:1-4), so it is not something the Bible is hostile towards.  Logic does not decree it to be a force that has to conflict with reason.  Nothing that I have said calls wonder a negative thing or denies that it can be quite wonderful to experience.  But if you seek truth, do not allow the heart to lead the mind; have the mind lead and the heart follow.  The inverse will lead to epistemological or existential catastrophe.