Rationality and Time Bias

This Element examines the philosophical arguments for and against the rationality of time biases, including future bias and near bias.

Abelard Podgorski (Author)

9781009517133, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 16 January 2025

66 pages
23.5 x 15.9 x 1.1 cm, 0.25 kg

We often care not only about what happens to us, but when it happens to us. We prefer that good experiences happen sooner, rather than later, and that our suffering lies in our past, rather than our future. Common sense suggests that some ways of caring about time are rational, and others are not, but it is surprisingly challenging to provide justifying explanations for these tendencies. This Element is an opinionated, nontechnical guided tour through the major arguments for and against different kinds of so-called time bias.

Introduction
Part I. Uncentered Time Bias: Part II. Near Bias
Part III. Future Bias
References.

Subject Areas: Philosophy [HP]