Transformative experience

Since its publication in 2014, L. A. Paul's book Transformative Experience has sparked many discussions in philosophy and beyond. Her main argument is that experiences we have not had before can transform us epistemically (i.e., we learn something we could not learn without the experience) and...

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Main Author: Villiger, D
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024
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author Villiger, D
author_facet Villiger, D
author_sort Villiger, D
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description Since its publication in 2014, L. A. Paul's book Transformative Experience has sparked many discussions in philosophy and beyond. Her main argument is that experiences we have not had before can transform us epistemically (i.e., we learn something we could not learn without the experience) and personally (i.e., our point of view changes radically). This has implications for decision theory in particular, but also for other fields. The present paper provides an overview of how transformative experiences are thought to challenge rational choice and how authors have responded to this challenge (with a focus on the epistemic transformation). Furthermore, it also shows how the concept of transformative experience has been fruitful beyond the decision-theoretical context, with a particular focus on illness, medical treatment, and the ethical issues involved. Finally, the paper presents open questions in the literature on transformative experiences.
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spelling oxford-uuid:39b49aca-c8b1-43f6-8000-8a312b1ce2d32024-06-25T13:12:32ZTransformative experienceJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:39b49aca-c8b1-43f6-8000-8a312b1ce2d3EnglishSymplectic ElementsWiley2024Villiger, DSince its publication in 2014, L. A. Paul's book Transformative Experience has sparked many discussions in philosophy and beyond. Her main argument is that experiences we have not had before can transform us epistemically (i.e., we learn something we could not learn without the experience) and personally (i.e., our point of view changes radically). This has implications for decision theory in particular, but also for other fields. The present paper provides an overview of how transformative experiences are thought to challenge rational choice and how authors have responded to this challenge (with a focus on the epistemic transformation). Furthermore, it also shows how the concept of transformative experience has been fruitful beyond the decision-theoretical context, with a particular focus on illness, medical treatment, and the ethical issues involved. Finally, the paper presents open questions in the literature on transformative experiences.
spellingShingle Villiger, D
Transformative experience
title Transformative experience
title_full Transformative experience
title_fullStr Transformative experience
title_full_unstemmed Transformative experience
title_short Transformative experience
title_sort transformative experience
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