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PHThe Prisoner’s Dilemma is one of the most famous thought experiments in the world, and it bridges psychology, mathematics, and philosophy. It goes like this: imagine that you and I are caught for a crime that the police don’t have much evidence for, and so they give me an offer. If I confess and admit everything, then I will walk free.
But you will get ten years in prison. And they give you the same deal too. But if both of us betray the other person, then we both get five years in prison. Or if we both stay quiet and give nothing away, well, the police have little to go on, and we only get six months for something minor.
So, what would you do? Traditional game theory says that the best and dominant strategy is to betray, because no matter what the other person does, this maximises the chances of you getting a good personal outcome. But the Prisoner’s Dilemma is interesting because it also says that if we trust each other, and are willing to take a personal risk, then we can all be better off individually.
And so much of society functions because we trust that other people are law-abiding, honest, and good people. We are all better off when we trust each other.
The Prisoner’s Dilemma shows us that it isn’t just selfish or evil people that are the problem, but our fear of there being evil and selfish people. Trust is one of the most important elements of being human, and without trust, society cannot function.
@philosophyminis
