The article "Time Bias and Altruism" by Leora Urim Sung, also published in Mind (Volume 134, Issue 534, April 2025), investigates the moral implications of our pervasive "time biases" when it comes to both our own well-being and the well-being of others, particularly in the context of altruism and charitable giving.
Near-Future Bias: The article begins by acknowledging a common psychological phenomenon- humans tend to be near-future biased. This means we often prioritize our present and immediate future interests over our own more distant future interests. For instance, we might prefer a smaller, immediate reward over a larger reward that is far off in time.
Extension to Others- Sung argues that this near-future bias can also extend to our concern for others. We may similarly prioritize the present and near-future interests of other people over their distant-future interests.
The Moral Argument: Given these psychological biases, the central thesis of the paper is that there are significant moral implications. Sung argues that, subject to a plausible limit on how much we can permissibly prioritize our own present interests over the present interests of strangers, we are morally required to prioritize the present interests of strangers over our own distant-future interests. This has implications for charitable giving.
This conclusion has direct and important implications for the ethics of charitable giving. If we are indeed morally obligated to prioritize the present suffering of others over our own distant-future well-being, then this creates strong moral pressure to donate to charities, especially those addressing immediate and severe needs. Such donations often come at the expense of our long-term savings or investments, which represent our own distant-future well-being.
Robustness of the Argument
Sung further contends that this conclusion holds even if our near-future bias is directed only towards ourselves, and regardless of whether this bias is considered rational or irrational. The argument hinges on the idea that there's a baseline level of concern we ought to have for others' present suffering that outweighs our own merely distant-future considerations.
"Time Bias and Altruism" challenges us to re-evaluate our moral priorities in light of our temporal biases, suggesting that a consistent and morally defensible stance may require significant sacrifices of our distant-future well-being to address the pressing present needs of others.
Pratyush Chaudhuri
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