On Whether to Prefer Pain to Pass.
Most of us are “time-biased” in preferring pains to be past rather than future and pleasures to be future rather than past. However, it turns out that if you are risk averse and time-biased, then you can be turned into a “pain pump” — in order to insure yourself against misfortune, you will take a s...
| Publicado en: | Ethics Vol. 121; no. 3; pp. 521 - 538 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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University of Chicago Press
April 2011
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| Sumario: | Most of us are “time-biased” in preferring pains to be past rather than future and pleasures to be future rather than past. However, it turns out that if you are risk averse and time-biased, then you can be turned into a “pain pump” — in order to insure yourself against misfortune, you will take a series of pills which leaves you with more pain and better off in no respect. Since this vulnerability seems rationally impermissible, while time-bias and risk aversion seem rationally permissible, we are left with a puzzle. Reprinted by permission of the publisher. |
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