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Divine games : game theory and the undecidability of a superior being / Steven J. Brams

Author
Brams, Steven J.
Published
Cambridge, Massachusetts : The MIT Press, [2018]
Physical Description
xiv, 204 pages ; 24 cm

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Contents
Machine generated contents note: 1.Introduction -- 1.1.Background -- 1.2.Game Theory -- 1.3.The Question of Free Will -- 2.Belief Decisions -- 2.1.Introduction -- 2.2.Pascal's Wager and the Search Decision -- 2.3.The Concern Decision -- 2.4.Conclusions -- 3.Belief Games -- 3.1.Introduction -- 3.2.Belief Game 1 -- 3.3.Belief Game 2 -- 3.4.Conclusions -- 4.Nonmyopic Equilibria in the Belief Games -- 4.1.Introduction -- 4.2.Nonmyopic Equilibria -- 4.3.Nonmyopic Equilibria in Belief Games 1 and 2 -- 4.4.Conclusions -- 5.Paradoxes of Prediction -- 5.1.Introduction -- 5.2.Newcomb's Problem -- 5.3.Which Principle, and Is There a Conflict? -- 5.4.Two Prediction Games -- 5.5.The Paradox of Omniscience -- 5.6.Conclusions -- 6.The Constraint and Temptation Games -- 6.1.Introduction -- 6.2.The Constraint Game: Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden -- 6.3.The Temptation Game: Eve and the Serpent -- 6.4.Conclusions -- 7.Three Testing Games -- 7.1.Introduction -- 7.2.Testing Game 1: Abraham's Attempted Sacrifice of Isaac -- 7.3.Testing Game 2: Jephthah's Sacrifice of His Daughter -- 7.4.Testing Game 3: Job's Suffering at the Hands of Satan -- 7.5.Conclusions -- 8.The Incitement, Blame, and Deception Games -- 8.1.Introduction -- 8.2.The Incitement Game: Provoking Cain's Murder of Abel -- 8.3.The Blame Game: Cain's Shifting of Blame for Abel's Murder to God -- 8.4.The Deception Game: Inducing Saul to Be King, and Then Destroying His Kingship -- 8.5.Conclusions -- 9.The Defiance (Manipulated), Pursuit, and Salvation Games -- 9.1.Introduction -- 9.2.Enter Moses -- 9.3.The Defiance (Manipulated) Game: Pharaoh and the Ten Plagues -- 9.4.The Pursuit Game: Pharaoh and the Israelites in the Wilderness -- 9.5.The Salvation Game: Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai -- 9.6.Conclusions -- 10.The Wisdom and Truth Games -- 10.1.Introduction -- 10.2.The Wisdom Game: King Solomon's Edict about the Disputed Baby -- 10.3.The Truth Game: A Better Way to Elicit the Truth -- 10.4.Conclusions -- 11.Summary and Conclusions -- 11.1.Undecidability in Decisions and Games -- 11.2.Undecidability in the Bible -- 11.3.Coda.
Summary
In 'Divine Games', Steven Brams analyzes games that a human being might play with an omnipotent and omniscient godlike being. Drawing on game theory and his own theory of moves, Brams combines the analysis of thorny theological questions, suggested by Pascal's wager (which considers the rewards and penalties associated with belief or nonbelief in God) and Newcomb's problem (in which a godlike being has near omniscience) with the analysis of several stories from the Hebrew Bible. Almost all of these stories involve conflict between God or a surrogate and a human player; their representation as games raises fundamental questions about God's superiority.In some games God appears vulnerable (after Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit in defiance of His command), in other games his actions seem morally dubious (when He subjects Abraham and Job to extreme tests of their faith), and in still other games He has a propensity to hold grudges (in preventing Moses from entering the Promised Land and in undermining the kingship of Saul). If the behavior of a superior being is indistinguishable from that of an ordinary human being, his existence would appear undecidable, or inherently unknowable. Consequently, Brams argues that keeping an open mind about the existence of a superior being is an appropriate theological stance.
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ISBN
9780262038331 hardcover alkaline paper
0262038331 hardcover alkaline paper
Bibliography Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
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