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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Information
Subtopic
Game TheoryIndex
MathematicsTable of contents
- Cover
- Title page
- Copyright page
- Epigraph
- Table of Contents
- Preface
- 1: Introduction
- 2: Belief Decisions
- 3: Belief Games
- 4: Nonmyopic Equilibria in the Belief Games
- 5: Paradoxes of Prediction
- 6: The Constraint and Temptation Games
- 7: Three Testing Games
- 8: The Incitement, Blame, and Deception Games
- 9: The Defiance (Manipulated), Pursuit, and Salvation Games
- 10: The Wisdom and Truth Games
- 11: Summary and Conclusions
- Appendix
- Glossary
- References
- Index
- Index of Biblical Passages
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Yes, you can access Divine Games by Steven J. Brams in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Mathematics & Game Theory. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.