Transforming Choices Must Be Made

In order to make an important decision, we use our own reasoning, including personal interests, research, and one’s general intuition. Although, there is an argument to be made in how we ought to be making these decisions called Maximizing Expected Utility, which uses values given to certain utilities of action. The actual use for this logic, though, is argued within the book “Transformative Experience” by L.A. Paul, whos states that it is rather impossible to follow principles of MAX when making choices that have the potential to change one’s entire life, or transformative choices (Paul 44).

In theory, MAX holds the most effective method of problem-solving. This is because one is able to view the utility, or gain, of each action, allowing him/her to choose the best possible outcome. For example, logic can be employed in deciding between telling the truth or lying when you and a close friend have been taken in for the question of a crime.

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Firstly, a prediction percentage would be assigned to your close friend's chances of actions, honesty (20%) and dishonesty (80%). Then, you would list the amount of time in jail you would receive from each outcome; the values equate to 5 years when both tell the truth, no years when you tell the truth and they lie, 3 years when both lie, and 10 years when you lie and they tell the truth. Finally, you would multiply these values by the percentages assigned to your close friend’s actions, then add the values in only each of your actions together.

This equates out to a value of 4 for telling the truth and 8.6 for lying. Granted it is preferred for you to receive the least number of years as possible, being honest during questioning, in this case, is the option that yields the best possible outcome. Here, a decision is easily determined and definite.

However, in Transformative Experience, LA Paul (2016) argues that rather than using MAX to determine importance choices, it is better used in choices with little importance (Paul 39). Deciding whether or not to tell the truth when being questioned can be considered a non-transformative choice because the experience created by both decisions is understood. While telling the truth is leads to more jail time for your close friend, your own consequences are minimalized. Lying, however, involves more total jail time for you. These are utilities that can be expected. However, Paul exclaims that people do not have the luxury of knowing every possible outcome when it comes to outcomes, which we have never faced, particularly outcomes that can have a large effect on someone’s life (39).

A very telling example of transformative choices that Paul uses involves blood-sucking creatures in everyday life. Basically, she exclaims that it is impossible to make a rational decision on whether to become a vampire or remain an ordinary human, even with the opinion of others. The imagery created is that all your friends have become vampires and are urging you to join them(Paul 1). You are perplexed by this because there is in fact no way of turning back to your human nature. So, there is a very big cost for making the wrong decision in that you may regret it (2). Paul states that making an informed choice is possible, but a rational one is utterly impossible (3). As opposed to the jail time example, where all outcomes are clear, choices made that transform your life cannot be made logically and must rely on one’s own intuition.

Although not nearly as life-altering as the commitment or denial to becoming a vampire, I too have dealt with an important decision regarding the choice of my major, computer science. In declaring my major, I conducted many evaluations, surveying as many second-choice majors as I could. I researched as much as I possibly could, looking at career paths, salaries, the best school with respect to the major, etc. After all of this, however, it was still very clear from the beginning that computer science would be my choice. This was mostly due to the prior experience of taking a high school level programming course, in which I took great interest. Granted career paths of other majors may have involved high salaries, I used intuition and research to determine this choice, excluding any value given to any outcome using MAX. This was a decision very easily made, not because of logic, but because of emotion.

Merriam-Webster defines the word “rational” as “relating to, based on, or agreeable to reason.” (“Rational”). I would argue that most decisions made by human beings are made using emotion and from that creating a logic separate from L.A. Paul’s concept of MAX. The declaration of my major was not only transformative, but a decision made using my own interest. The reason used was not in accordance with values placed on cost or profit, rather personal interest that stood out. To me personally, this decision was extremely logical, therefore by definition, rational.

Works Cited

1. “Rational.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster.com, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rational.
2. Paul, L.A. Transformative Experience. Oxford University, 2016.