Time Biases: A Theory of Rational Planning and Personal Persistence
Should you care less about your distant future? What about events in your life that have already happened? How should the passage of time affect your planning and assessment of your life? Most of us think it is irrational to ignore the future but completely harmless to dismiss the past. But this book argues that rationality requires temporal neutrality: if you are rational you don't engage in any kind of temporal discounting. The book draws on puzzles about real-life planning to build the case for temporal neutrality. How much should you save for retirement? Does it make sense to cryogenically freeze your brain after death? How much should you ask to be compensated for a past injury? Will climate change make your life meaningless? Meghan Sullivan considers what it is for you to be a person extended over time, how time affects our ability to care about ourselves, and all of the ways that our emotions might bias our rational planning. Drawing substantially from work in social psychology, economics and the history of philosophy, the book offers a systematic new theory of rational planning.
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Time Biases: A Theory of Rational Planning and Personal Persistence
Should you care less about your distant future? What about events in your life that have already happened? How should the passage of time affect your planning and assessment of your life? Most of us think it is irrational to ignore the future but completely harmless to dismiss the past. But this book argues that rationality requires temporal neutrality: if you are rational you don't engage in any kind of temporal discounting. The book draws on puzzles about real-life planning to build the case for temporal neutrality. How much should you save for retirement? Does it make sense to cryogenically freeze your brain after death? How much should you ask to be compensated for a past injury? Will climate change make your life meaningless? Meghan Sullivan considers what it is for you to be a person extended over time, how time affects our ability to care about ourselves, and all of the ways that our emotions might bias our rational planning. Drawing substantially from work in social psychology, economics and the history of philosophy, the book offers a systematic new theory of rational planning.
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Time Biases: A Theory of Rational Planning and Personal Persistence

Time Biases: A Theory of Rational Planning and Personal Persistence

by Meghan Sullivan
Time Biases: A Theory of Rational Planning and Personal Persistence

Time Biases: A Theory of Rational Planning and Personal Persistence

by Meghan Sullivan

eBook

$18.89 

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Overview

Should you care less about your distant future? What about events in your life that have already happened? How should the passage of time affect your planning and assessment of your life? Most of us think it is irrational to ignore the future but completely harmless to dismiss the past. But this book argues that rationality requires temporal neutrality: if you are rational you don't engage in any kind of temporal discounting. The book draws on puzzles about real-life planning to build the case for temporal neutrality. How much should you save for retirement? Does it make sense to cryogenically freeze your brain after death? How much should you ask to be compensated for a past injury? Will climate change make your life meaningless? Meghan Sullivan considers what it is for you to be a person extended over time, how time affects our ability to care about ourselves, and all of the ways that our emotions might bias our rational planning. Drawing substantially from work in social psychology, economics and the history of philosophy, the book offers a systematic new theory of rational planning.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780192542120
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Publication date: 06/20/2018
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 224
File size: 494 KB

About the Author

Meghan Sullivan is a Professor of Philosophy at Notre Dame and the Director of the University Philosophy Requirement. Sullivan's research tends to focus on philosophical problems concerning time, modality, rational planning and religious belief. Shehas published work in many of the leading generalist philosophy journals, including Nous, Ethics, and Philosophical Studies. She also regularly writes shorter public philosophy <https://meghansullivan.org/popular-press/> essays - including publications in The Huffington Post, Commonweal and First Things - and gives public philosophy talks.

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
  • 1: The Received Wisdom
  • 2: The Life Saving Argument
  • 3: The Arbitrariness Argument
  • 4: Personal Volatility
  • 5: Preferences about the Past
  • 6: The No Regrets Argument
  • 7: The Arbitrariness Argument (Again)
  • 8: Understanding Temporal Neutrality
  • 9: Neutrality, Sunk Costs, and Commitment
  • 10: Neutrality and Life Extension
  • 11: Neutrality and Meaning
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