has a masters degree in philosophy from the Sorbonne and a masters degree in social sciences from ENS-Lyon. After working for a discussion series about philosophy for the French radio station France Culture, she now writes for Philosophie Magazine.
“So when did the idea first come to you?” The question can be heard everywhere, in interviews of celebrities, everyday life, and in our work lives too, as we find ourselves increasingly urged to tell our own story in a riveting way. But in our obsession with epiphanies, are we not overlooking the laborious and gradual nature of many of our life-changing decisions?
We often describe change in our lives as the result of some imagined, internal trigger – points of no return which change the way we see things forever. Among such triggers, in recent years, we might mention the pandemic, which led many people to leave big cities and live in the countryside. But epiphanies can be of many kinds. A boss might radically change the way they manage their company after an important event; an employer might suddenly decide to leave to start a new career; and in the private sphere too, we might realise, following an argument, that our partner is “toxic”, or that we have unhealthy attachment patterns, or we might have a sexual epiphany after randomly trying out a new practice.
All these crucial moments are told like turning points in our lives, when everything changes – which suggests that such epiphanies don’t happen every day. Rather, through their scope and their power to transform us, they would be exceptional events which correspond to what the philosopher Vladimir Jankélévitch calls an “existential hapax”: an event which “does not announce itself through precursive signs.” (The Je-ne-sais-quoi and Almost Nothing, 1980).
‘Our choices become more interesting in the eyes of others when they were the result of a revealing realisation’
Epiphanies everywhere
But in recent years, these moments have gradually ceased to feel exceptional. They’re now mentioned in everyday conversations, and in relation to every area of life, as if they had become almost compulsory. The question, “when did you realise?” – that you needed to be a singer, date that person, buy a pet rabbit, break up with your partner, and so on – has become an inevitable part of any exchange both in the media and in our daily lives. The expression itself has taken on its own strange, incantatory force. It fascinates the audience, makes…
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