Game Theory and the Humanities

Catalog description

Game theory is a mathematical theory of strategy that has been applied to the analysis of conflict and cooperation in such fields as economics, political science, and biology. In this seminar, we discuss more unusual applications to history, literature, philosophy, the Bible, theology, and law. No mathematical background beyond high school mathematics is assumed, but a willingness to learn and apply sophisticated reasoning to analyze the interactions of players in games is essential. Among the applications to be discussed are Abraham's decision to offer his son, Isaac, for sacrifice in the Bible; choices made by accused witches and their persecutors in medieval witch trials; Lady Macbeth's incitement of Macbeth to murder King Duncan in Shakespeare's play; several strategic games played by presidents and their antagonists in domestic crises (the Civil War, the Great Depression, Watergate) and international crises (the Cuban missile crisis, the Iran hostage crisis); and coping mechanisms used by characters in catch-22 games (including those in Joseph Heller's novel, Catch-22).