Brams Superior Beings. If They Exist, How Would We Know?

Game-Theoretic Implications of Omnipotence, Omniscience, Immortality, and Incomprehensibility
2. Auflage 2007
ISBN: 978-0-387-48077-0
Verlag: Springer-Verlag
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 202 Seiten

The same is true of applications of game theory to history, philosophy religion, and the other humanities. In particular, I know of no attempts to apply game theory to the kinds of p- losophy-of-religion and theology questions that I explored in Superior Beings, By contrast; the nexus between science and religion has been thoroughly analyzed using other methods of inquiry as evidenced by Charles L. Harper Jr (ed. ), Spiritual Information: 100 Perspectives on Science and Religion (West Conshohocken, PA: Templeton Foundation Press, 2006), a huge collection put together in honor of Sir John Templeton's ninetieth birthday Sir John, through the Templeton Foundation, is the primary propo nent and the major benefactor of studies in science and religion today How science and religion are (or are not) connected is, of course, an old subject. It is also a controversial one, extending at least from Galileo's trial in 1633 to the teaching of evolution today. While game theory is a mathematical theory, Superior Beings is emphatically not a scientific work, wherein a theory is tested. Rather, it is an attempt to interpret and explain important philo sophical, religious, and theological questions in terms of the rational choices of ordinary human beings, who are assumed to play games with a superior being. The game theory I use is nonstandard.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Brams, Steven

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Acknowledgments;13
2;Contents;15
3;Introduction;21
4;The Rationality of Belief in a Superior Being;32
4.1;2.1. Introduction;32
4.2;2.2. The Revelation Game;34
4.3;2.3. The Revelation Game Paradox;38
4.4;2.4. The Knowability Games;43
4.5;2.6. Conclusions;58
5;Omniscience and Partial Omniscience;60
5.1;3.1. Introduction;60
5.2;3.2. Some Effects of Omniscience;62
5.3;3.3. Newcomb's Problem;65
5.4;3.4. Which Principle, and Is There a Conflict?;69
5.5;3.5. Newcomb's Problem Symmetricized: Prisoners' Dilemma;71
5.6;3.6. A Solution to Prisoners' Dilemina;73
5.7;3.7. Cooperation or Noncooperation?;76
5.8;3.8. Implications of Mutual Predictability for SB and P;79
5.9;3.9. Conclusions;83
6;The Paradox of Omniscience and the Theory of Moves;85
6.1;4.1. Introduction;85
6.2;4.2. The Paradox of Omniscience;87
6.3;4.3. A Resolution of the Paradox of Omniscience;90
6.4;4.4. Theory of Moves;93
6.5;4.5. A Second Paradox: Moves May Provide No Resolution;102
6.6;4.6. Conclusions;107
7;Omnipotence: Moving and Staying Power;109
7.1;5.1. Introduction;109
7.2;5.2. Moving Power;111
7.3;5.3. Is There a Paradox of Moving Power?;117
7.4;5.4. Theological Interpretations of Moving Power;119
7.5;5.5. Staying Power;122
7.6;5.6. An Algorithm for Determining S- Power Outcomes;126
7.7;5.7. M-Power Versus S-Poiver in the Commitment Game and Other Situations;133
7.8;5.8. Conclusions;138
8;Immortality and Incomprehen-sibility;140
8.1;6.1. Introduction;140
8.2;6.2. Threats and Immortality;141
8.3;6.3. Repeated Plays;145
8.4;6.4. Threat Power in the Punishment Game: When Immortality Is Decisive in an Asymmetrical Game;154
8.5;6.5. Deception by the Superior Being;158
8.6;6.6. The Truth Game and the Problem of Evil;163
8.7;6.7. Conclusions;171
9;Superior Beings: They May Be Undecidable;173
9.1;7.1. Introduction;173
9.2;7.2. Undecidability;174
9.3;7.3. Arbitrariness and Undecidability;180
10;Appendix;188
11;Glossary;193
12;Bibliography;200
13;Index;205