Eliezer: the rationality of defection in these finitely repeated games has come under some fire, and there’s a HUGE literature on it. Reading some of the more prominent examples may help you sort out your position on it.
Start here:
Robert Aumann. 1995. “Backward Induction and Common Knowledge of Rationality.” Games and Economic Behavior 8:6-19.
Cristina Bicchieri. 1988. “Strategic Behavior and Counterfactuals.” Synthese 76:135-169.
Cristina Bicchieri. 1989. “Self-Refuting Theories of Strategic Interaction: A Paradox of Common Knowledge.” Erkenntnis 30:69-85.
Ken Binmore. 1987. “Modeling Rational Players I.” Economics and Philosophy 3:9-55.
Jon Elster. 1993. “Some unresolved problems in the theory of rational behaviour.” Acta Sociologica 36: 179-190.
Philip Reny. 1992. “Rationality in Extensive-Form Games.” The Journal of Economic Perspectives 6:103-118.
Phillip Petit and Robert Sugden. 1989. “The Backward Induction Paradox.” The Journal of Philosophy 86:169-182.
Brian Skyrms. 1998. “Subjunctive Conditionals and Revealed Preference.” Philosophy of Science 65:545-574
Robert Stalnaker. 1999. “Knowledge, Belief and Counterfactual Reasoning in Games.” in Cristina Bicchieri, Richard Jeffrey, and Brian Skyrms, eds., The Logic of Strategy. New York: Oxford University Press.
Eliezer: the rationality of defection in these finitely repeated games has come under some fire, and there’s a HUGE literature on it. Reading some of the more prominent examples may help you sort out your position on it.
Start here:
Robert Aumann. 1995. “Backward Induction and Common Knowledge of Rationality.” Games and Economic Behavior 8:6-19.
Cristina Bicchieri. 1988. “Strategic Behavior and Counterfactuals.” Synthese 76:135-169.
Cristina Bicchieri. 1989. “Self-Refuting Theories of Strategic Interaction: A Paradox of Common Knowledge.” Erkenntnis 30:69-85.
Ken Binmore. 1987. “Modeling Rational Players I.” Economics and Philosophy 3:9-55.
Jon Elster. 1993. “Some unresolved problems in the theory of rational behaviour.” Acta Sociologica 36: 179-190.
Philip Reny. 1992. “Rationality in Extensive-Form Games.” The Journal of Economic Perspectives 6:103-118.
Phillip Petit and Robert Sugden. 1989. “The Backward Induction Paradox.” The Journal of Philosophy 86:169-182.
Brian Skyrms. 1998. “Subjunctive Conditionals and Revealed Preference.” Philosophy of Science 65:545-574
Robert Stalnaker. 1999. “Knowledge, Belief and Counterfactual Reasoning in Games.” in Cristina Bicchieri, Richard Jeffrey, and Brian Skyrms, eds., The Logic of Strategy. New York: Oxford University Press.