Of course. My point is that observing if the discount rate changes with the risk tells you if the agent is rational or irrational, not if the discount rate is all instrumental or partially terminal.
Stepping back for a moment, terminal values represent what the agent really wants, and instrumental values are things sought en-route.
The idea I was trying to express was: if what an agent really wants is not temporally discounted, then instrumental temporal discounting will produce a predictable temporal discounting curve—caused by aging, mortality risk, uncertainty, etc.
Deviations from that curve would indicate the presence of terminal temporal discounting.
This bothers me since, with reasonable assumptions, all rational agents engage in the same amount of catastrophe discounting.
That is, observed discount rate = instrumental discount rate + chance of death + other factors
We should expect everyone’s discount rate to change, by the same amount, unless they’re irrational.
Agents do not all face the same risks, though.
Sure, they may discount the same amount if they do face the same risks, but often they don’t—e.g. compare the motorcycle racer with the nun.
So: the discounting rate is not fixed at so-much per year, but rather is a function of the agent’s observed state and capabilities.
Of course. My point is that observing if the discount rate changes with the risk tells you if the agent is rational or irrational, not if the discount rate is all instrumental or partially terminal.
Stepping back for a moment, terminal values represent what the agent really wants, and instrumental values are things sought en-route.
The idea I was trying to express was: if what an agent really wants is not temporally discounted, then instrumental temporal discounting will produce a predictable temporal discounting curve—caused by aging, mortality risk, uncertainty, etc.
Deviations from that curve would indicate the presence of terminal temporal discounting.
Agreed.