Epiphany (feeling)
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This article is about the feeling. For the feast day, e Epiphany (holiday).
Arthur Fry, inventor of the Post-it note, with one on his forehead with a picture of a lightbulb
precipitousAn epiphany (from the ancient Greek ἐπιφάνεια, really什么意思>edoepiphaneia, "manifestation, striking appearance") is an experience of sudden and striking realization. Generally the term is ud to describe breakthrough scientific, religious or philosophical discoveries, but it can apply in any situation in which an enlightening realization allows a problem or situation to be understood from a new and deeper perspective. Epiphanies are studied by psychologists[1][2] and other scholars, particularly tho attempting to study the process of innovation.[3][4][5]
Epiphanies are relatively rare occurrences and generally following a process of significant thought about a problem. Often they are triggered by a new and key piece of information, but importantly, a depth of prior knowledge is required to allow the leap of understanding.[3][4][6][7] Famous epiphanies include Archimedes's discovery of a method to determine the density of an object and Isaac Newton's realization that a falling apple and the orbitin
alleviatedg moon are both pulled by the same force.[8][6][7]
gamma correctionContents [hide] ∙ 1 History ∙ 2 Process ∙ 3 Myth 英语大课堂答案∙ 4 In religion ∙ 5 See also ∙ 6 References |
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[edit] History
The word epiphany originally referred to insight through the divine.[9] Today, this concept is ud much more often and without such connotations, but a popular implication remains that the epiphany is supernaturalquite是什么意思, as the discovery ems to come suddenly from the outside.[9]
The word's cular usage may owe some of its popularity to James Joycereact, who expounded on its meaning in the fragment Stephen Hero and the novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Referring to tho times in his life when something became manifest, a deep realization, he would then attempt to write this epiphanic realization in a fragment. Joyce also ud epiphany as a literary device within each short story of his collection Dubliners as his protagonists came to sudden recognitions that changed their view of themlves or their social condition and often sparking a reversal or change of heart. For the philosopher Emmanuel Lévinasbill porter, epiphany or a manifestation of the divine is en in another's face (e face-to-face).
From "L'atmosphere" book of 1888
In traditional and pre-modern cultures, initiation rites and mystery religions have rved as vehicles of epiphany, as well as the arts. The Greek dramatists and poets would, in the ideal, induct the audience into states of catharsis or kenosis, respectively. In modern times an epiphany lies behind the title of William Burroughs' Naked Lunch, a drug-influenced state, as Burroughs explained, "a frozen moment when everyone es what is at the end of the fork." Both the Dadaist Marcel Duchamp and the Pop Artist Andy Warhol would invert expectations by prenting commonplace objects or graphics as works of fine art (for example a urinal as a fountain), simply by prenting them in a way no one had thought to do before; the result was intended to induce an epiphany of "what art is" or is not.
[edit] Process
Despite its popular image, epiphany is the result of significant work on the part of the discoverer, and is only the satisfying result of a long process.[10] The surprising and fulfilling feeling of epiphany is so surprising becau one cannot predict when one's labor will bear fruit, and our subconscious can play a significant part in delivering the solution; and is fulfilling becau it is a reward for a long period of effort.[4][10]
[edit] Myth
A common myth predicts that most if not all innovation occur through epiphanies.[6] Not all innovations occur through epiphanies; Scott Berkun notes that "the most uful way to think of an epiphany is as an occasional bonus of working on tough problems".[7] Most innovations occur without epiphany, and epiphanies often contribute little towards finding the next one.[7] Crucially, epiphany cannot be predicted, or controlled.[7]
Although epiphanies are only a rare occurrence, crowning a process of significant labor, there is a common myth that epiphanies of sudden comprehension are commonly respon
sible for leaps in technology and the sciences.[6][7] Famous epiphanies include Archimedes' realization of how to estimate the volume of a given mass, which inspired him to shout "Eureka!" ("I have found it!").[3] The biographies of many mathematicians and scientists include an epiphanic episode early in the career, the ramifications of which were worked out in detail over the following years. For example, allegedly Albert Einstein was struck as a young child by being given a compass, and realizing that some unen force in space was making it move. A similar flash of holistic understanding in a prepared mind was said to give Charles Darwin his "hunch" (about natural lection) during The Voyage of the Beagle. Another famous epiphany myth is associated with Isaac Newton's apple story.[4] Though such epiphanies might have occurred, they were almost certainly the result of long and intensive periods of study tho individuals have undertaken, not a sudden, out-of-the-blue, flash of inspiration on an issue they have not thought about previously.[6][7]
