Abstract:
According to the doctrine of recurrence, we are reborn after our apparent death to live our life again. This paper develops a new doctrine of recurrence. We make three main claims. First, we argue that the simulation hypothesis increases the chance that we will recur. Second, we argue that the chance of recurrence affects rational choice, depending on the shape of your utility function. In particular, we show that one kind of recurrence will be action relevant if and only if your preferences between actions could shift when all outcomes are scaled by a common factor. Third, we argue that recurrence can affect rational choice even if you do not survive recurrence.
