L.A. Paul, a Yale philosophy and cognitive science professor, delves into transformative experiences and decision-making. She uses a captivating vampire thought experiment to explore how major choices, like parenthood, shape our identity and desires. Reflecting on her own journey from chemistry to philosophy, Paul discusses the emotional complexity of life-altering decisions. The conversation uniquely ties philosophical concepts to real-world applications, including bioethics and personal growth, while offering insights through literature and film.

Brandon Sanderson, bestselling author of the Stormlight Archives, shares insights on building a fiction empire and creating impactful Kickstarter campaigns. Seth Godin, marketing guru, discusses the importance of game strategy and creative thinking in business. Philosopher L.A. Paul dives into transformative experiences and decision-making through unique analogies, such as becoming a vampire. This wrap-up highlights the interplay between creativity, family balance, and the evolving impact of AI on personal transformation.

In this fascinating dialogue, L.A. Paul, a Yale professor specializing in metaphysics and cognitive science, delves into transformative experiences that reshape our identities. They explore the intricacies of decision-making, emphasizing how significant choices like parenthood redefine desires and self-perception. The conversation touches on the balance between empathy and rational charity, and the moral complexities tied to regret and future selves. A thought-provoking discussion on how personal experiences impact our values and ethical beliefs unfolds, leaving listeners reflecting on their own transformative moments.

Sam Harris speaks with L.A. Paul about the nature of transformative experiences. They discuss how certain experiences change the self, the nature of regret, changing belief systems, conspiracy thinking, empathy, doing good in the world, our relationship to our future selves, changing our values, the nature of possibility, the ethics of punishment, moral luck, the moral landscape, consequentialism, and other topics. L.A. Paul is the Millstone Family Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Cognitive Science at Yale University and leads the Self and Society Initiative for Yale’s Wu Tsai Institute. Her research explores questions about the nature of the self and decision-making, and the metaphysics and cognitive science of time, cause, and experience. She is the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Humanities Center, and the Australian National University. She is also the author of three books, including Transformative Experience, and Causation: A User’s Guide, which was awarded the American Philosophical Association Sanders Book Prize. Website: www.lapaul.org   Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the Waking Up app. From rational mindfulness practice to lessons on some of life’s most important topics, join Sam as he demystifies the practice of meditation and explores the theory behind it.

How do we decide whether to undergo a transformative experience when we don’t know how that experience will change us? This is the central question explored by Yale philosopher and cognitive scientist L.A. Paul. Paul uses the prospect of becoming a vampire to illustrate the conundrum: let's say Dracula offers you the chance to become a vampire. You might be confident you'll love it, but you also know you'll become a different person with different preferences. Whose preferences do you prioritize: yours now, or yours after becoming a vampire? Similarly, whose preferences do we prioritize when deciding how to engage with technology and social media: ours now, or ours after becoming users — to the point of potentially becoming attention-seeking vampires? In this episode with L.A. Paul, we're raising the stakes of the social media conversation — from technology that steers our time and attention, to technology that fundamentally transforms who we are and what we want. Tune in as Paul, Tristan Harris, and Aza Raskin explore the complexity of transformative experiences, and how to approach their ethical design.