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L. A. Paul
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Transformative Experience 1st Edition

by L. A. Paul (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 87 ratings
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As we live our lives, we repeatedly make decisions that shape our future circumstances and affect the sort of person we will be. When choosing whether to start a family, or deciding on a career, we often think we can assess the options by imagining what different experiences would be like for us. L. A. Paul argues that, for choices involving dramatically new experiences, we are confronted by the brute fact that we can know very little about our subjective futures. This has serious implications for our decisions. If we make life choices in the way we naturally and intuitively want to--by considering what we care about, and what our future selves will be like if we choose to have the experience--we only learn what we really need to know after we have already committed ourselves. If we try to escape the dilemma by avoiding an experience, we have still made a choice.

Choosing rationally, then, may require us to regard big life decisions as choices to make discoveries, small and large, about the intrinsic nature of experience, and to recognize that part of the value of living authentically is to experience one's life and preferences in whatever way they may evolve in the wake of the choices one makes.

Using classic philosophical examples about the nature of consciousness, and drawing on recent work in normative decision theory, cognitive science, epistemology, and the philosophy of mind, Paul develops a rigorous account of transformative experience that sheds light on how we should understand real-world experience and our capacity to rationally map our subjective futures.
Previous page
  1. ISBN-10
    9780198717959
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0198717959
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  5. Publication date
    January 6, 2015
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    5.75 x 0.75 x 8.75 inches
  8. Print length
    202 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"L.A. Paul's Transformative Experience is one of the best kinds of philosophy books ... [it] has already received well-deserved public and philosophical attention, and should inspire research for years to come." -- Marcus Arvan, Australasian Journal of Philosophy

"This book offers a very rigorous account of the notions of transformative experience and rationally moving into the future... Recommended." -- Choice

"Transformative Experience hits the sweet spot: it's a significant scholarly work, bearing on deep philosophical issues, but it's also engaging and accessible." --Paul Bloom, The Slate

"It's a provocative, enticing book. It's an enjoyable read, accessible to both specialists in philosophy and non-philosophers. In fact, I teach it in my introductory philosophy classes...her work has sparked an explosion of interesting research." -- The Philosopher's Magazine

Book Description

How should we make choices when we know so little about our futures? L. A. Paul argues that we must view life decisions as choices to make discoveries about the nature of experience.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0198717954
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; 1st edition (January 6, 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 202 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780198717959
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0198717959
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 0.75 x 8.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 87 ratings

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L. A. Paul

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
87 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

erg
5.0 out of 5 stars The book for transformative times - highly recommended
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2015
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I'll preface this review with the statement that I am a scientist, not a philosopher. In fact, this may be the first philosophy text I've ever read (and I haven't finished it yet). I was attracted to it because of an interesting column written about it in the NYT (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/25/opinion/david-brooks-the-big-decisions.html), and I made the uncharacteristic decision to purchase it. That said, I have found the book thus far to be intellectually and personally challenging. I have also found that it has helped me understand a transformative process through which I am currently going, which I doubt I would have understood, accepted, valued or loved had I not read this book. Transformative experiences don't come along every day, and by the very virtue of their being "extra-epistemic", can be easily feared, abhorred, misinterpreted, and the like. Yet, virtually everyone will have such an experience over a lifetime, and possibly many more than one. Having a deeper understanding of that process, such as can be gained through reading this book, can make a big difference at those times. I thank the author for her work, and heartily recommend the book, even to those who, like me, never quite understood the value of philosophy.
56 people found this helpful
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Anne K. Buck
5.0 out of 5 stars I'm transformed epistemically
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2018
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Great book, needed for a class. LA Paul writes a bit circuitously, however her theory is well explained from multiple different angles. If you're looking for definitive answers, this book isn't for you. If you're craving food for thought to potentially expand upon, you'll dig it.
9 people found this helpful
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Camia Elzie
4.0 out of 5 stars it was in great condition! I actually enjoyed not having the cover ...
Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2017
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Although the hard copy did not have a cover, it was in great condition! I actually enjoyed not having the cover of the book, because it looked more elegant and mysterious in style.
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Nicole
3.0 out of 5 stars Relevant, but repetitive and incomplete (IMO)
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2019
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The volume itself is beautiful, lightweight, and a nice size.
The content is relevant to anyone crippled with anxiety over big life decisions or struggling with day to day indecision.
However, the book is VERY repetitive. The last two pages some up in the entire book very succinctly enough.
Content-wise I took issue with the lack of appeal to emotional valence and context, but that's my own philosophizing.
Should you read it? Yeah, I suppose. Quickly though. Get it at the library if you can. The price tag is a bit much for a simple interest read.
9 people found this helpful
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temi
5.0 out of 5 stars Vampires
Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2018
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Want to learn how becoming a Vampire applies to your most important life experiences?

On a serious note, it gets REPETITIVE. However, the price tag is worth what you will get out of the first 50 pages.
2 people found this helpful
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Chet R.
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2017
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Thanks
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Dr. Laurence Raw
2.0 out of 5 stars Flawed Justification for the Power of Reason in Our Thinking
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2015
This is a curious book. It is excellently written, with a fine understanding of the philosophical problems arising from transformative decision-making - in other words, those decisions we come to that will eventually change our lives. Through a series of case-studies, partly friviolous, partly serious, Paul makes us aware of how difficult such decisions are, both philosophically as well as emotionally. The case-studies include deciding to become a vampire (or embracing the vampiric spirit), deciding to have a child, and (for deaf people especially) deciding to have an implant so as to restore the power of hearing (or to make profoundly deaf people hear for the first time).

Paul writes in the second person, addressing all arguments to an imaginary reader. This gives the book a personal, intimate tone that perhaps works against the complexity of the ideas advanced. Sometimes the ideas are a little difficult to follow, especially for readers unacquainted with decision theory. Maybe the book can really only be appreciated by philosophers, rather than those seeking to understand what kind of decisions or ideas help to inspire transformative thinking.

What really undermines the book is the emphasis on rational thinking. Personal experience has revealed that many transformative decisions represent a leap in the dark: we decide to change our lives without really knowing what the consequences might be. Such decisions can be bold in the extreme, but they help us develop strategies of coming to terms with new experiences and developing new ways of thinking that are not always based on previous knowledge, as Paul claims. Sometimes that previous knowledge proves unhelpful, especially when we compare the new experience with our previous experiences. These normally turn out to be value-laden comparisons that perpetually change over time.

Sometimes the human mind is "unreasonable," prompting us to make decisions which we cannot explain, either to ourselves or to others. We either answer "I don't know," or "it just seemed right at the time." Such responses undercut the basic thrust of Paul's argument that we can find a rational justification for transformative thinking. We tend to let our emotions rule our brains, especially when these kind of decisions need to be made: sometimes we regret them, but on other occasions we are grateful that we set aside our reason and jumped off the emotional cliff instead.
48 people found this helpful
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Gloria P.
5.0 out of 5 stars We often have to make very important life decisions with very little solid info.
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2019
It helps me to develop a process for solid thinking and planning.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

NForde
5.0 out of 5 stars Neat argument, compelling conclusion
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 4, 2019
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This is a wonderful little book with an interesting array of arguments against the intuitive notion that you are always best placed to make rational decisions for yourself. Taken together with the broader literature from behavioural economics it provides a potent counterpoint to the naive view of decision theory whereby we simply weight the expectations under a preference ordering. However the novelty in the approach recommends this book above the standard observations that humans occasionally behave irrationally. Paul argues that it is in certain circumstances impossible to weight our expectations appropriately. Nevertheless, in this case, i think you will be pleasantly surprised if you purchase the book.
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Ryan Sales
3.0 out of 5 stars A good read but repetitive
Reviewed in Canada on August 4, 2017
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LA Paul's transformative experience is a good read for those who are interested in her thesis on transformative experiences. Split in two, the first half attempts to be more accessible to those with little or no metaphysical or philisophical background. Unfortunately, her writing is very repetitive and she spends 100 pages restating what she could describe in 15-20. She does have some gems in this book and it's worth reading for them alone.
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Sultanabun
5.0 out of 5 stars A rewarding read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 27, 2015
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Laurie Paul leads the reader through a very interesting argument with sparkling, clean writing and keen wit.
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