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Presentation Paper Example Material Type: Notes; Professor: Brennan; Class: Introduction to Philosophy; Subject: Philosophy; University: Saint Louis Community College-Meramec; Term: Spring 2011;
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Eric Wichmann Expansion on Prisoner’s Dilemma 4/21/ The Prisoner’s Dilemma is a mind game, and like all games, it can be beaten. By beaten I do not mean that you escape 100% free of penalty every time you play it, but there are ways to be better off than the other guy. The strategy is simple really, but it all depends on how well you know the other guy. The basic structure of the Prisoner’s Dilemma is that there are 2 prisoners, each who is interrogated involving a crime. Your penalty not only relies on whether or not you confess, but also of the other prisoner. Basically, the person assigning the punishment assumes you are both guilty, because if you both confess or you both remain silent, you receive a punishment either way. In this way, it’s a game, rather than justice. Now on to the ‘beating the game’ part. What’s best for you and you only, if you do not care about the outcome for the other prisoner, is to confess. If you confess, you will either only get a mediocre sentence, or no sentence at all. If you do care about the other prisoner, and you trust him/her enough to listen to your advice, your best bet is to both remain silent because you’ll get the minimal sentence. The basic rule of the game is that on a superficial level the prisoners’ dilemma appears to display the overall idea of the invisible hand (Hand). When each person in the dilemma pursues his private interest, he does not promote the collective interest
of the group. On the opposite side of the table, if both parties work together, which rarely happens if somebody is up for jail time, then it benefits each person with a slight sacrifice. The Prisoner’s Dilemma structure is used in modern world decision making as well; for example: Two countries have to make a decision on whether or not to produce more or less weaponry. If both choose to produce more, then they are still equal with the other country, thus no benefit. If both countries choose to produce less weapons, then there is less violence and less of an overall threat, not to mention a gain in trust. Then, if one country makes more and another makes less, the country that made more is at a severe advantage. Thus, the obvious safe choice in this problem would be to always produce more guns, unless you are sure the other country will mimic your reduced-gun-making strategies too. Therefore, The Prisoner’s Dilemma is a game, and there is a safe way to play it, just like every other game. You can either be deceitful and play off the honest, or be with your own kind; equally punished. The real question is, what about your conscience? http://plus.maths.org/content/os/issue14/features/smith/index (Hand)