Choosing to be changed: Revelation, identity and the ethics of self-transformation

This paper examines the issue of deciding to change who one is. It focuses on Paul’s recent discussion of “transformative experiences”. Paul claims that, in order to make a rational decision to undergo a transformative experience, one should base one’s decision on “revelation”, i.e. to discover what the experience will be like. If this solution is treated as the only means by which a transformative choice is made, then I argue that it is problematic. I offer two reasons why: (1) it overlooks or misconstrues the role that one’s practical identity should play when deciding to make a major life-decision; and (2) it ignores morally-relevant reasons for action. Even if we retain Paul’s revelation approach as only a part of the method by which a transformative choice is made, then I argue that the value of revelation should often count for little in our decision-making. Rather than focusing on the subjective quality of future experiences, it is often preferable to reflect on who one is and what one’s endorsed practical identity commits one to doing