Prisoner's dilemma and Newcomb's problem: why Lewis's argument fails

Analysis 73 (3):423-429 (2013)
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Abstract

According to David Lewis, the prisoner's dilemma (PD) and Newcomb's problem (NP) are really just one dilemma in two different forms (Lewis 1979). Lewis's argument for this conclusion is ingenious and has been widely accepted. However, it is flawed. As this paper shows, the considerations that Lewis brings to bear to show that the game he starts with is an NP equally show that the game is not a PD

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10.1093/analys/ant034

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References found in this work

Prisoners' dilemma is a newcomb problem.David K. Lewis - 1979 - Philosophy and Public Affairs 8 (3):235-240.
Prisoners, Paradox, and Rationality.Lawrence H. Davis - 1977 - American Philosophical Quarterly 14 (4):319 - 327.
Symmetry arguments for cooperation in the Prisoner's Dilemma.Cristina Bicchieri & Mitchell S. Green - 1999 - In Cristina Bicchieri, Richard C. Jeffrey & Brian Skyrms (eds.), The Logic of Strategy. Oxford University Press. pp. 175.

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