Your biggest life decisions can't be made rationally | L.A. Paul: Full Interview

You can't explain a third dimension to someone living in a two-dimensional world. According to Yale philosopher L.A. Paul, the same is true of life's biggest decisions — you simply can't know what it's like until you're already there. ❍ Subscribe to The Well on YouTube: https://bit.ly/welcometothewell Some of life's biggest decisions — having a child, falling in love, going to war — can't actually be made the way we think decisions are supposed to be made. Not because we're irrational, but because the only thing that could ever teach us what we needed to know is the experience itself. Yale philosopher L.A. Paul calls this the epistemic wall: the barrier between who you are now and who you'll become. And everyone on the other side telling you it's worth it, that you should absolutely do it, that it changed their life — can't actually help you. Their preferences have already changed. Acknowledging that might be the most rational thing you can do. 0:00 Chapter 1: The epistemic wall 5:10 The blind spot in 2,500 years of philosophy 8:39 Chapter 2: The vampire thought experiment 13:08 Chapter 3: Testimony and identity 14:38 Why other people's experiences can't tell you who you'll become 18:19 Chapter 4: Our future selves 20:04 The Flatland model of personal transformation 23:44 Chapter 5: Collective transformation and AI 26:52 What falling in love with an AI does to you 27:44 Risk, revelation, and how to face the unknown Read the full video transcript: https://bigthink.com/the-well/the-hid... utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=youtube_description_thewell ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ❍ About The Well ❍ Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life’s biggest questions, and that’s why they’re the questions occupying the world’s brightest minds. So what do they think? How is the power of science advancing understanding? How are philosophers and theologians tackling these fascinating questions? Let’s dive into The Well. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join The Well on your favorite platforms: ❍ Facebook: https://bit.ly/thewellFB ❍ Instagram: https://bit.ly/thewellIG