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Darwin Meets the Logic of Decision: Correlation in Evolutionary Game Theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2022

Brian Skyrms
Brian Skyrms*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, University of California at Irvine
*
‡Send reprint requests to the author, Department of Philosophy, 500-HOB, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, CA 92717-4555, USA.
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Abstract

The proper treatment of correlation in evolutionary game theory has unexpected connections with recent philosophical discussions of the theory of rational decision. The Logic of Decision (Jeffrey 1983) provides the correct framework for correlated evolutionary game theory and a variant of “ratifiability” is the appropriate generalization of “evolutionarily stable strategy”. The resulting theory unifies the treatment of correlation due to kin, population viscosity, detection, signaling, reciprocal altruism, and behavior-dependent contexts. It is shown that (1) a strictly dominated strategy may be selected, and (2) under conditions of perfect correlation a strictly efficient strategy must be selected.

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 61 , Issue 4 , December 1994 , pp. 503 - 528
Copyright
Copyright © Philosophy of Science Association 1994

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Footnotes

†

Earlier versions of this paper were read at colloquia at the University of California at Berkeley, Stanford University and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. I would like to thank John Harsanyi, Branden Fitelson, Bas van Fraassen, Richard Jeffrey, Paul Milgrom, Patrick Suppes, Peter Vanderschraaf and audiences at the colloquia mentioned for discussion and/or suggestions. An anonymous referee offered penetrating commentary, help with exposition, correction of errors and assistance in composing this acknowledgement. Remaining defects are the sole responsibility of the author. This paper was completed at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. I am grateful for financial support provided by the National Science Foundation, the Andrew Mellon Foundation and the University of California President's Fellowship in the Humanities.

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