The Prisoner's Dilemma

doi:10.1017/CBO9781107360174

The Prisoner's Dilemma is one of the most fiercely debated thought experiments in philosophy and the social sciences, presenting the simple insight that when two or more agents interact, the actions that most benefit each individual may not benefit the group. The fact that when you do what is best for you, and I do what is best for me, we end up in a situation that is worse for both of us makes the Prisoner's Dilemma relevant to a broad range of everyday phenomena. This volume of new essays from leading philosophers, game theorists, and economists examines the ramifications of the Prisoner's Dilemma, the directions in which it continues to lead us, and its links to a variety of topics in philosophy, political science, social science, economics, and evolutionary biology. The volume will be a vital and accessible resource for upper-level students as well as for academic researchers.

‘… the book provides a good overview of the variety of perspectives on the rational solutions to the Prisoner’s dilemma, as well as of the increasing doubts regarding its descriptive and explanatory scope.’

Cédric Paternotte Source: Metascience

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-iv
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Contents
pp v-vi
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List of contributors
pp vii-viii
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Introduction
pp 1-15
- By Martin Peterson, Texas A&M University
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1 - Why all the fuss? The many aspects of the Prisoner's Dilemma
pp 16-34
- By Ken Binmore, University of Bristol
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2 - How I learned to stop worrying and love the Prisoner's Dilemma
pp 35-53
- By David Gauthier, University of Pittsburgh
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3 - Taking the Prisoner's Dilemma seriously: what can we learn from a trivial game?
pp 54-63
- By Daniel M. Hausman, University of Wisconsin-Madison
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4 - Prisoner's Dilemma doesn't explain much
pp 64-84
- By Robert Northcott, University of London, Anna Alexandrova, Cambridge University
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5 - The Prisoner's Dilemma and the coevolution of descriptive and predictive dispositions
pp 85-100
- By Jeffrey A. Barrett, University of California
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6 - I cannot cheat on you after we talk
pp 101-114
- By Cristina Bicchieri, University of Pennsylvania, Alessandro Sontuoso, University of Pennsylvania
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7 - Prisoner's Dilemma cannot be a Newcomb Problem
pp 115-132
- By José Luis Bermúdez, Texas A&M University
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8 - Counterfactuals and the Prisoner's Dilemma
pp 133-155
- By Giacomo Bonanno, University of California
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9 - The Tragedy of the Commons as a Voting Game
pp 156-176
- By Luc Bovens, London School of Economics and Political Science
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10 - The role of numbers in Prisoner's Dilemmas and public good situations
pp 177-198
- By Geoffrey Brennan, Australian National University, Michael Brooks, University of Tasmania
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11 - The inner struggle: why you should cooperate with people you will never meet again
pp 199-218
- By Martin Peterson, Texas A&M University
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12 - Prisoner's Dilemmas, intergenerational asymmetry, and climate change ethics
pp 219-242
- By Douglas MacLean, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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13 - Prisoner's Dilemma experiments
pp 243-264
- By Charles Holt, University of Virginia, Cathleen Johnson, University of Arizona, David Schmidtz, University of Arizona
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14 - The lesson of the Prisoner's Dilemma
pp 265-281
- By Paul Weirich, University of Missouri-Columbia
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Bibliography
pp 282-296
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Index
pp 297-298
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The Prisoner's Dilemma

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-iv

Contents
pp v-vi

List of contributors
pp vii-viii

Introduction
pp 1-15

1 - Why all the fuss? The many aspects of the Prisoner's Dilemma
pp 16-34

2 - How I learned to stop worrying and love the Prisoner's Dilemma
pp 35-53

3 - Taking the Prisoner's Dilemma seriously: what can we learn from a trivial game?
pp 54-63

4 - Prisoner's Dilemma doesn't explain much
pp 64-84

5 - The Prisoner's Dilemma and the coevolution of descriptive and predictive dispositions
pp 85-100

6 - I cannot cheat on you after we talk
pp 101-114

7 - Prisoner's Dilemma cannot be a Newcomb Problem
pp 115-132

8 - Counterfactuals and the Prisoner's Dilemma
pp 133-155

9 - The Tragedy of the Commons as a Voting Game
pp 156-176

10 - The role of numbers in Prisoner's Dilemmas and public good situations
pp 177-198

11 - The inner struggle: why you should cooperate with people you will never meet again
pp 199-218

12 - Prisoner's Dilemmas, intergenerational asymmetry, and climate change ethics
pp 219-242

13 - Prisoner's Dilemma experiments
pp 243-264

14 - The lesson of the Prisoner's Dilemma
pp 265-281

Bibliography
pp 282-296

Index
pp 297-298

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The Prisoner's Dilemma

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