Temporal Asymmetries in Philosophy and Psychology
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Author Description
Humans' attitudes towards an event often vary depending on whether the event has already happened or has yet to take place. The dread felt at the thought of a forthcoming exam turns into relief once it is over. Recent research in psychology also shows that people value past events less than future ones, such as offering less pay for work already carried out than for the same work to be carried out in the future. This volume brings together philosophers and psychologists with a shared interest in such psychological past/future asymmetries. It asks questions such as: What different kinds of psychological past/future asymmetries are there, and how are they related? Under what conditions do humans exhibit them? To what extent do they reflect features of time itself, or particular beliefs people have about time? Are they rational, or at least rationally permissible, or should we aspire to being temporally neutral? What exactly does temporal neutrality consist of?
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This volume investigates the cognitive and philosophical foundations of why human attitudes and valuations differ significantly between past and future events. The authors, a multidisciplinary team of philosophers and psychologists, examine whether these temporal asymmetries are rooted in the objective nature of time or are merely products of human belief systems. By synthesizing empirical research with conceptual analysis, the text explores the rationality of these biases and the normative question of whether humans should strive for temporal neutrality.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Analysis of psychological biases regarding past versus future event valuation.
- Philosophical frameworks for evaluating the rationality of temporal preferences.
- Empirical research findings on human behavioral responses to temporal positioning.
- Conceptual definitions of temporal neutrality and its potential application in decision-making.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Experts in the fields of cognitive science and philosophy regard this volume as a critical interdisciplinary resource for understanding temporal cognition. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which serves as a foundational text for those studying the intersection of psychology and metaphysics.
Page Count:
336
Publication Date:
2022-05-24
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0198862903
ISBN-13:
9780198862901
Philosophy
Psychology
Metaphysics
Epistemology
