The Slave Trader Who Wrote "Amazing Grace"

In the 1740s, a young English sailor named John Newton was reckless and had abandoned his faith entirely. His mother died when he was 7, and his relationship with his father grew distant. He was press-ganged into the Navy. He made enemies everywhere he went. John ended up working on slave ships. In 1748, a violent storm hit his ship, the Greyhound. Water poured in. The ship was on the verge of sinking. John was certain he was going to die. In that moment of vulnerability, something shifted. He asked for mercy, even though he felt he did not deserve it. When he survived, he started attending church. He began to pray. Eventually, he became an abolitionist and the author of the hymn Amazing Grace. Philosopher Laurie Paul at Yale studies moments like these. She calls them Transformative experiences. The young John Newton could have never predicted who he would become. Laurie's work reminds us that our lives can change in an instant and take us in directions we never expected. For more insights about the science of the mind, tune into Hidden Brain on Apple, Spotify, or hiddenbrain.org.