| Abstract: | "The models in mainstream game theory generally assume that actors act according to a single, consistent utility function. Empirical studies, common sense, and humanistic wisdom all suggest that that assumption is too simple. This book starts with an assumption that actors are controlled by diverse, inconsistent forces and demonstrates that introducing this level of complexity allows for the creation of a wide array of critical game theory models that can help to attain new insights into nature, human nature, human institutions, and human behaviour. Along with a review of existing critical game theory, the book will focus on surfacing and explaining an array of potential critical game theory approaches (including Leftist/Neo-Marxist, Empirical, Entropic, Four Temperaments, and Neurodivergence). As a rule, these models will not be mathematically tractable-but the more complex accounts of interactions that they suggest will often be truer to life, more resonant in humanistic terms, and more compelling as bases for action and for change than mainstream models are. For each chapter, the first part will present a story or case, followed by discussions and explanations couched in nontechnical terms, without the use of matrices. In the third part of each chapter, matrices along with game trees and programs will be used before the last part summarizes the findings. The vision of critical game theory advanced in the book will be of significant interest to researchers in an array of theoretical and applied disciplines, including but not limited to literature, psychology, political science, economics, computer science, ethics, business ethics, law, and law and economics"-- |
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