Evolution of the Social Contract

by Brian Skyrms

Overview

A recognized authority on game and decision theory investigates traditional problems of the social contract in terms of evolutionary dynamics. Game theory is skillfully employed to offer new interpretations of a variety of social phenomena, including justice, mutual aid, commitment, convention and meaning.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521555838
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	06/28/1996
Edition description:	Older Edition
Pages:	162
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.43(h) x 0.59(d)

About the Author

Brian Skyrms is Distinguished Professor of Logic and Philosophy of Science and of Economics at the University of California, Irvine and Professor of Philosophy at Stanford University, California. His publications include The Stag Hunt and the Evolution of Social Structure (Cambridge, 2004), Signals: Evolution, Learning, and Information (2010), From Zeno to Arbitrage: Essays on Quantity, Coherence, and Induction (2012) and Evolution of the Social Contract (Cambridge, 1996), which won the 1999 Lakatos Award in Philosophy of Science.

Table of Contents

Preface to the second edition; Preface to the original edition; Acknowledgments; 1. Sex and justice; 2. Fairness and commitment; 3. Mutual aid; 4. Correlated convention; 5. The evolution of meaning; Postscript; Notes; References; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"This second edition is an important update of Brian Skyrms' important book. Game theorists in evolutionary biology, economics and philosophy will continue to profit from, and enjoy, Skyrms' groundbreaking work."
Elliott Sober, University of Wisconsin, Madison

From the Publisher