Cailin O'Connor, an Associate Professor at UCI, dives into the fascinating intersections of game theory, evolution, and societal inequities. She explains how competition for resources leads to systematic unfairness and the emergence of social hierarchies. O'Connor discusses the altruism paradox, revealing how genetic selection can illuminate seemingly irrational behaviors. The conversation also explores how game theory provides insights into human cooperation and the complexities of negotiation, prompting a deeper reflection on societal structures and the evolution of inequality.
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Game Theory Definition
Game theory models strategic interactions between agents with different interests.
These agents can be humans, animals, or even simpler organisms.
insights INSIGHT
Prisoner's Dilemma and Altruism
The Prisoner's Dilemma models altruism by presenting a scenario where defection is individually rational but cooperation benefits everyone.
It highlights the tension between self-interest and collective well-being.
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Selfish Gene View
Altruism towards kin can be explained through the "selfish gene" view.
This view suggests that genes promoting altruism towards kin can be selected for as it benefits other genes just like itself.
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This book surveys the use of game theory and evolutionary game theory in the philosophy of biology. It explores questions related to communication, meaning, and prosociality through models like signaling games, the prisoner's dilemma, the stag hunt, and bargaining games. The book provides insights into strategic behavior in biological systems and its implications for understanding social groups.
The Origins of Unfairness
The Origins of Unfairness
Social Categories and Cultural Evolution
Cailin O'Connor
In 'The Origins of Unfairness', Cailin O'Connor uses evolutionary game theory to explain how social categories like gender and race lead to inequitable conventions and norms. She argues that these categories facilitate coordination problems, resulting in unfair outcomes that favor one group over another. The book highlights the challenges of eliminating such unfairness due to its deep roots in cultural evolution.
You can’t always get what you want, as a wise person once said. But we do try, even when someone else wants the same thing. Our lives as people, and the evolution of other animals over time, are shaped by competition for scarce resources of various kinds. Game theory provides a natural framework for understanding strategies and behaviors in these competitive settings, and thus provides a lens with which to analyze evolution and human behavior, up to and including why racial or gender groups are consistently discriminated against in society. Cailin O’Connor is the author or two recent books on these issues: Games in the Philosophy of Biology and The Origins of Unfairness: Social Categories and Cultural Evolution.
Cailin O’Connor received her Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of California, Irvine. She is currently Associate Professor of Logic and Philosophy of Science and a member of the Institute for Mathematical Behavioral Science at UCI. Her works involves questions in the philosophy of biology and behavioral science, game theory, agent-based modeling, social epistemology, decision theory, rational choice, and the spread of misinformation.
Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas 