#796: L.A. Paul — On Becoming a Vampire, Whether or Not to Have Kids, Getting Incredible Mentorship for $250, Transformative Experiences, and More

L.A. Paul delves into the intricacies of transformative experiences, arguing that they challenge our traditional frameworks for evaluating life events and making rational decisions.

Traditional Frameworks Can't Evaluate Transformative Experiences

Transformative Experiences Change People, Making Current Preferences Inadequate For Predicting Their Value or Desirability

Paul uses her own life as an example, describing her switch from chemistry to philosophy without any background in the latter. This move, driven by what she names a transformative experience, highlights how such events can lead individuals to alter their life’s trajectory in ways that wouldn't align with their prior preferences or interests.

Transformative Experiences: Epistemic and Ontological Shifts Prevent Future Self Anticipation

Paul emphasizes the dissonance between one's current self and the potential future self that arises from transformative experiences. These experiences render the standard decision-making models inadequate since the values and desires attributed to outcomes are based on current preferences, which are subject to change.

Transformative Experiences Pose Deep Challenges for Rational Decision-Making

Traditional Expected Utility Models Fail When Outcomes Lack Clear Values

Paul acknowledges the difficulty in making decisions when the future self is unforeseeable, as is the case with transformative experiences. The usual rational decision-making models stumble because they rely on the ability to assign value and project oneself into the future. Such transformation may lead to a profound epistemic shift in understanding one's existence, characterized by the emergence of preferences completely alien to their current self.

Inability to Comprehend the Transformed Self From a Transformative Experience Hinders Purely Rational Choices

The conversation moves on to Paul's point that transformative experiences are types of events that one has never encountered before, which make it impossible to predict what they'll be like from the inside. Descriptions of such events are insufficient; they represen ...

An exploration of how transformative experiences can fundamentally alter a person's identity and decision-making process, with parenthood highlighted as a key example.

Transformative Experiences Can Reshape One's Self and Values

Transformative experiences encompass a range of life events that can profoundly reshape one’s identity, values, and understanding of the world. These experiences are not limited to positive epiphanies; they can involve suffering and may not be something one might actively desire.

Parenthood Alters Priorities, Desires, and Relationships

The leap into parenthood is a prime example of a transformative experience and demonstrates the challenge of making choices for a future self that might have drastically different preferences from the current self. L.A. Paul, Tim Ferriss, and others discuss the process of becoming a parent as a life change that results in a significant shift in identity.

This thorough transformation is said to align with evolutionary pressures that not only reshapes one's self and values but also challenges the concept of identity. Paul expands on this by explaining the fundamental changes to priorities, desires, and relationships that come with deciding to have children. Ferriss acknowledges the opacity of such a decision and the difficulty in resolving it simply through data or anecdotes.

Experiences Like Disability or Psychedelics Can Shatter Identity and Reality Understanding

Paul introduces the concept of 'ontological shock,' which can occur after life-altering experiences, such as a catastrophic accident resulting in quadriplegia or the first use of psychedelics. These events can thrust individuals into discovering a new mode of existence and self-conception. Paul explains that the neurological changes induced by psychedelics can lead to a reconfiguration of perception and self-understanding. Epistemic shifts from such transformative experiences can be so profound that they fundamentally change a person's self-conception and understanding of the world.

Moreover, these experiences can sometimes result in a complete dissolution of the self. Paul ponders over the implications of such experiences on one's identity, especially when there's a remaining experiential perspective despite the dissolution of ego.

Approaching Major Life Decisions Amid Transformation

Paul and Ferriss engage with the difficulties of approaching major life decisions, particularly when those decisions could catalyze a transformative change.

Be Open to a Transformed Self Rather Than Calculating Expected Utility

Ferriss suggests being open to transformation when faced with significant life choices rather than attempting to calcula ...

L.A. Paul and Tim Ferriss tackle the complex nature of transformative personal experiences through the lens of parenthood and the hypothetical scenario of becoming a vampire, navigating the territories of unpredictability and irreversible change.

The Case Of Deciding Whether to Have Children

The conversation steers towards how the monumental decision to have children affects a person's identity and values in unforeseen ways. L.A. Paul likens it to the transformative experience of becoming a vampire because it deeply alters the mind and values, creating a bond with one's child that renders the thought of exchange or regret inconceivable.

Parenthood Alters Identity and Values Unpredictably

Though no specific examples are offered regarding the unpredictable nature of this alteration, the general consensus is that becoming a parent leads to major changes, often producing great happiness and a different self that the individual might initially have been unsure they wanted to become. Tim Ferriss recognizes the immense and unpredictable shift parenthood brings and cites acquaintances whose identities and life values were altered in ways they did not anticipate post-childbirth.

L.A. Paul acknowledges the uncertainty surrounding how a child can change a person's identity. She highlights additional complexities, such as the possibility of having a disabled child, which adds further unpredictability to how one’s role as a parent might evolve.

Proponents Say Having Children Is Invaluable, but the Unsure Struggle to Comprehend the Transformation

Ferriss is aptly worried about potential separation from a partner post-kids, rather than the act of parenting itself. Similarly, Paul admits that before having children, her rational approach could not match up to the actuality of what was an utterly strange metaphysical shift in her existence.

L.A. Paul speaks from personal experience when detailing the profound joy of having a child, describing it as an irreplaceably wonderful condition — a sentiment that resembles the fulfilled perspectives of vampires on their undead condition. The "literally inconceivable" remarkable aspects of parenthood, such as giving birth to a new living being, highlight the challenge of grasping the true magnitude of the transformation beforehand.

The "Vampire Thought Experiment"

This hypothetical scenario, crafted by L.A. Paul, serves as an analogy for the difficulties in discerning the outcomes of transformative decisions.

The Challenge Of Evaluating Immortality As a Vampire

Paul poses a question about the ethical consequences of immortality through the lens of a vampire's life. The challenge arises in the need to balance the potentially ...

The utility of philosophy is far-reaching. It not only teaches us to think critically, providing a conceptual framework for considering the world and our place in it, but also guides individuals and societies through profound changes.

Philosophy Offers a Framework For Understanding Transformative Challenges

Philosophers like L.A. Paul turn to intuition and aim to make complex ideas accessible to all, seeking to uncover fundamental truths about humans and the world. Through her work, Paul strives to make sense of transformative ideas and provide clarity when traditional frameworks fail. One's understanding of time, self, and the way these concepts interrelate is paramount in coming to terms with transformative challenges.

Distinguishing Between the Nature of Time/Reality and One's Experience Is Crucial For Grappling With These Issues

Philosophy provides a vital framework for considering our experience of time and self. L.A. Paul's introduction to the subject through Quentin Smith encapsulates this, as her desire to understand our place in the world was inspired by conversations about the nature of time. Groundbreaking texts like Martin Heidegger's "Being and Time" illustrate how philosophy can demystify the complex nature of our existence.

Paul's work aims to help individuals navigate the difficulties posed by life-altering experiences. Ted Chiang’s writing exemplifies how thought experiments can deepen one's grasp of possible worlds and selves, contributing to an understanding of the nature of time and reality separate from personal experience.

Thought Experiments and Case Studies Cultivate Humility and Openness For Radical Transformation

Transformative experiences often elude simple explanation, bridging the gap between words and the fullness of experience. Concepts such as "ontological shock" and attempts to express ineffable experiences explore the immense impact transformation can have on understanding reality. Paul introduces concepts like the Buddhist perspective on suffering and detachment as methods for coping with such experiences.

Philosophy Can Guide Decisions and Policies On Transformative Experiences

Contributions to Bioethics, Ai Ethics, and Technological or Medical Changes Affecting Humanity

The discussion extends to the classroom, where philosophical inquiry proves crucial in a variety of disciplines, including artificial intelligence, cognitive science, and neuroscience. Engineers and th ...