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Laurie Paul Facing A Transformative Experience

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In her book “Transformative Experience,” Laurie Paul discusses her definition of a transformative experience and asserts that we face an introspective challenge when deciding whether to undergo said experience. Paul describes a transformative experience as an experience that is profoundly new and fundamentally altering. In this paper, I will argue that Paul is correct in her definition of a transformative experience and that we do indeed face a certain challenge when deciding to engage in this type of experience. I contend that our analysis of this challenge can either enhance or hinder our ability to decide rationally about undergoing a transformative experience. Paul regards a transformative experience as “a kind of experience that is both radically new to you and changes you in a deep and fundamental way” (Paul, 16). Paul claims that there are two types of experiences: personally transformative experiences, and epistemically transformative experiences. A personally transformative experience is one that can change who you are in regard to your point of view (Paul, 15). An epistemically transformative experience, however, is one that provides you with new information …show more content…

I insist that these types of experiences produce the most challenges when deciding to undergo them. For instance, deciding whether to become a parent is a prime example of an experience that is fundamentally transformative; more importantly it is an experience that is both epistemically and personally transformative (Paul, 66)? If you have never been a parent before, how can you be completely sure that it is the right decision for you to make? Moreover, because you lack the information necessary to make a rational decision about a potentially life changing experience, you are at a significant disadvantage (Paul, 8). Therein lies the pivotal challenge that accompanies a transformative

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