Investigating the Theoretical and Practical Ramifications of ‘Transformative Experiences’: Towards a Unified Approach

Project Gist

In this project we investigated the concept of transformative experience through a blend of philosophical theory and engagement with specific cases, working across the disciplinary boundaries of philosophy and anthropology.

Keywords

Transformative Experience; Philosophy; Anthropology; Trauma; Education

Background and Purpose

A ‘transformative experience’ is an event which brings about a substantive change to a person’s worldview or deeply held values. How are such experiences to be understood, what are their value, and what ramifications should they have for our conception of the self? In this project we approached these questions from a range of disciplinary perspectives, putting philosophy in conversation with film studies and anthropology.

Project Achievements

Through this project we have formed a new research group within Kyoto university focusing on the ethics of the everyday, which aims to develop a new way doing of philosophy in which sensitivity to the philosophical significance of everyday experience is cultivated. Connecting researchers in Ethics, Education studies, Japanese philosophy and psychology, this group aims to build up a new approach to philosophy, which connects directly to the everyday experience of people.

Future Prospects

We hope to provide a platform for “ordinary people” (a concept that itself will be problematized) to be able to share their experiences of living through and with trauma, to allow their insights and perspectives to help inform the articulation of a language adequate to the understanding of the range of depth of human experience. By creating such a space, we hope to foster people’s sensitivity to unacknowledged or hidden suffering in the lives of others, and to improve their capacity to listen respectfully and non-judgmentally to others. We will do so by applying for further grants to establish this field, and to engage with non-governmental organisations who document everyday experience.

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Principal Investigator