Transformative Experience /

"Transformative experiences" are those that substantially change one's point of view--one's preferences and experience of self. Paul (UNC Chapel Hill) argues that though people believe they can rationally assess such choices as starting a family or "even becoming a vampire," the fact is that people can know very little about their subjective futures. One learns only what one really needs to know after already committing oneself. Accordingly, the rational choice is to regard big life decisions as choosing to make discoveries--to live authentically by choosing to evolve and engage in new experiences. One must choose to have an experience for its own sake and recognize that one makes the choice with a certain amount of ignorance about what it would really be like to "be a parent" or "be a vampire." This book offers a very rigorous account of the notions of transformative experience and rationally moving into the future. It requires much patience, careful reading, and tolerance of an often-repetitive text. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students and researchers/faculty. --Jacquelyn A. Kegley, California State University, Bakersfield