Transformative Experience

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Epistemology, Health & Well Being, Psychology
Cover of the book Transformative Experience by L. A. Paul, OUP Oxford
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: L. A. Paul ISBN: 9780191027819
Publisher: OUP Oxford Publication: November 6, 2014
Imprint: OUP Oxford Language: English
Author: L. A. Paul
ISBN: 9780191027819
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Publication: November 6, 2014
Imprint: OUP Oxford
Language: English

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 you make. 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.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

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 you make. 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.

More books from OUP Oxford

Cover of the book Design Concepts in Nutritional Epidemiology by L. A. Paul
Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of English Prose 1500-1640 by L. A. Paul
Cover of the book The Oxford Edition of Blackstone's: Commentaries on the Laws of England by L. A. Paul
Cover of the book Art Rethought by L. A. Paul
Cover of the book Forbidden Drugs by L. A. Paul
Cover of the book Living with Germs by L. A. Paul
Cover of the book Challenging Health Economics by L. A. Paul
Cover of the book Everyday Cryptography by L. A. Paul
Cover of the book A Practical Approach to Effective Litigation by L. A. Paul
Cover of the book The Historians of Angevin England by L. A. Paul
Cover of the book Justice in Conflict by L. A. Paul
Cover of the book The Voyage Out by L. A. Paul
Cover of the book Antimicrobial Stewardship by L. A. Paul
Cover of the book Metacognitive Diversity by L. A. Paul
Cover of the book Taylor on Criminal Appeals by L. A. Paul
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy