Actuality and the Hidden Horizon: Today is Rational

Language philosopher Bry Willis critiques Meghan Sullivan’s theory of temporal neutrality, which argues that we should treat our future selves with the same importance as our current selves. While acknowledging that impulsive short-sightedness is often irrational, the author contends that prioritising the present is frequently a logical response to the inherent uncertainty of life. This perspective, termed actuality-weighting, suggests that the present self has a stronger claim to resources because its existence is certain, whereas the future self is merely a conditional possibility. Because factors such as mortality, declining health, and unpredictable life events naturally discount the value of future goods, the author argues that a perfectly neutral approach ignores the physical and existential realities of being human. Ultimately, the source suggests that the future arrives pre-discounted by contingency, making a complete lack of time preference an unrealistic and abstract ideal.👉 https://brywillis634737.substack.com/