Reflections on ethics and game theory

Abstract

Applications of game theory to moral philosophy are impeded by foundational issues and troublesome examples. In the first part of this paper, questions are raised about the appropriate game-theoretical frameworks for applications to moral philosophy and about the proper interpretations of the theoretical devices employed in these frameworks. In the second part, five examples that should be of particular interest to those interested in the connections between ethics and game theory are delineated and discussed. The first example comprises games in which there is an outcome unanimously preferred to the "solution" of the game, appropriately defined. The second comprises games whose solution calls for different players to employ different strategies. The third comprises games whose solution calls for players to adopt mixed strategies. The fourth comprises games whose solution requires players to cycle among a variety of strategies. The fifth comprises games whose solution requires players to discriminate in morally inappropriate ways. © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.