Description
Book SynopsisThis book investigates the relationship between our present and future selves. It focuses specifically on diachronic self-regarding decisions: choices involving our earlier and later selves, in which the earlier self makes a decision for the later self.
The author connects the scientific understanding of the neurobehavioral processes at the core of individualsâ perceptions of their future selves with the philosophical reflection on individualsâ moral relationship with their future selves. She delineates a descriptive theory of the perception of the future self that is based on empirical evidence and that systematizes and integrates the current theoretical literature. She then argues for the morality of prudence and interprets diachronic self-regarding decisions as decisions between two agentsâ the earlier and later selvesâthat belong to the realm of intergenerational ethics, which regulates the relationship between contemporary people and future generations. Finally, the autho
