Game Theory and the Humanities

Complete TOC Preface
Acknowledgments xiii
1 Game Theory and Literature: An Overview
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Method of Inquiry 4
1.3 Avoidance and Acceptance of the Minimax Theorem 5
1.4 Are Zero-Sum Games Emotionless? 11
1.5 The Rationality of Tragedy 13
1.6 Coordination Problems, Signaling, and Commitment 16
1.7 The Devil and God 19
1.8 Reputation and Intrapsychic Games 21
1.9 Wherein Lies the Future? 24
2 The Bible: Sacrifice and Unrequited Love 29
2.1 Introduction 29
2.2 Abraham ' s Sacrifi ce 31
2.3 What If Abraham Had Refused to Sacrifice Isaac? 42
2.4 Samson and Delilah 50
2.5 Theory of Moves (TOM) 57
2.6 Emotions, Feasible Moves, and Morality 65
3 Theology : Is It Rational to Believe in God? 69
3.1 Introduction 69
3.2 Pascal's Wager and the Search Decision 72
3.3 The Concern Decision 77
3.4 The Revelation Game 81
3.5 Decisions versus Games 91
4 Philosophy: Paradoxes of Fair Division 93
4.1 Introduction 93
4.2 Criteria and Classifi cation 95
4.3 Efficiency and Envy-Freeness: They May Be Incompatible 97
4.4 Unique Efficient and Envy-Free Divisions: Their Incompatibility with Other Criteria 100
4.5 The Desirability of Unequal Divisions (Sometimes) 102
4.6 Summary and Conclusions 108
5 Political Philosophy: How Democracy Resolves Conflict in Difficult Games 111
5.1 Introduction 111
5.2 Resolution by Voting in a 2-Person PD 113
5.3 Example of an n-Person PD 117
5.4 Example of an n-Person PD 117
5.5 A Biblical Tale 119
5.6 Other Difficult Games 121
5.7 Summary and Conclusions 125
Law Supreme Court Challenges and Jury Selection 127
6.1 Introduction 127
6.2 The White House Tapes Case 128
6.3 Analysis of the White House Tapes Game 136
6.4 The Roosevelt Court and the New Deal 140
6.5 Jury Selection 146
6.6 Summary and Conclusions 152
7 Plays: Modeling Frustration and Anger 155
7.1 Introduction 155
7.2 The Frustration Game 159
7.3 Lysistrata: Overcoming Frustration with a Credible Threat 165
7.4 The Self-Frustration Game 170
7.5 Macbeth: From Self-Frustration to Murder 175
7.6 Summary and Conclusions 180
8 History: Magnanimity after Wars 185
8.1 Introduction 185
8.2 The Two-Sidedness Convention 187
8.3 Different Views on the Rationality of Magnanimity after Wars 190
8.4 The Magnanimity Game (MG) 191
8.5 Applications of MG to Historical Cases 197
8.6 Why Did the Confederacy Initiate the U.S. Civil War? 201
8.7 Summary and Conclusions 207
9 Incomplete Information in Literature and History 209
9.1 Introduction 209
9.2 Information Revelation in Hamlet 211
9.3 Incomplete Information in the Magnanimity Game (MG) 217
9.4 Misperception in the Iran Hostage Crisis 219
9.5 The Cuban Missile Crisis: Moving, Order, and Threat Power 226
9.6 Deception in the Cuban Missile Crisis 236
9.7 The Paradox of Omniscience 240
9.8 Summary and Conclusions 244
10 Catch-22s in Literature and History 247
10.1 Introduction 247
10.2 TOM Cyclic Games 250
10.3 Moving Power in TOM 253
10.4 The Original Catch-22 Game and the Generic Game 256
10.5 The Witch Trials 263
10.6 King-of-the-Mountain Games 268
10.7 Summary and Conclusions 270
11 Summary and Conclusions 275
Appendix 281
Glossary 287
References 295
Index