Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T19:39:27.306Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Rationality, Morality, and Exit

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2013

Viktor J. Vanberg  and
Roger D. Congleton
Viktor J. Vanberg
Affiliation:
George Mason University
Roger D. Congleton
Affiliation:
George Mason University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The morality and rationality issue is explored from an Axelrod-type perspective; that is, it is discussed in terms of recurrent-prisoner's-dilemma-type games and behavioral strategies or programs for playing them. We argue that intuitive notions of rationality and morality can be shown to be mutually compatible if two assumptions are made: (1) that morality is specified as a general behavioral disposition or program whose rationality is to be determined in comparison to alternative behavioral programs and (2) that the recurrent game is specified as a prisoner's dilemma game with an exit option. The results of a simulation experiment are presented, showing that a “moral program” (specified as one that never defects, but exits in response to an opponents defection) is successful in competition with a variety of alternative programs, including Tit for Tat.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 86 , Issue 2 , June 1992 , pp. 418 - 431
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1992 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alexander, Richard D. 1987. The Biology of Moral Systems. New York: de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Axelrod, Robert. 1984. The Evolution of Cooperation. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Buchanan, James M. 1977. Freedom in Constitutional Contract. College Station: Texas A&M University Press.Google Scholar
Buchanan, James M. 1988. “The Gauthier Enterprise.” In The New Social Contract, ed. Paul, Ellen Frankel et al. New York: Basil Blackwell.Google Scholar
Campbell, Donald T. 1986. “Rationality and Utility from the Standpoint of Evolutionary Biology.” Journal of Business 59:S355–64.10.1086/296372Google Scholar
Gauthier, David. 1986. Morals by Agreement. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Gauthier, David. 1988. “Morality, Rational Choice, and Semantic Representation.” In The New Social Contract, ed. Paul, Ellen Frankel et al. New York: Basil Blackwell.Google Scholar
Heiner, Ronald A. 1990. “Rule-governed Behavior in Evolution and Huma n Society.” Constitutional Political Economy 1:19–46.10.1007/BF02393032Google Scholar
Hirschman, Albert O. 1970. Exit, Voice, and Loyalty—Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
McLean, Iain, Orbell, John M., and Dawes, Robyn M.. 1991. “What Should Rational Cognitive Misers Do?” American Political Science Review. 85(4):1417–1420.10.2307/1963954Google Scholar
Orbell, John M., Schwartz-Shea, Peregine, and Simmons, Randy. 1984. “Do Cooperators Exit More Readily Than Defectors?” American Political Science Review 78:147–62.10.2307/1961254Google Scholar
Schuessler, Rudolf. 1989. “Exit Threats and Cooperation under Anonymity.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 33:728–49.10.1177/0022002789033004007Google Scholar
Tullock, Gordon. 1985. “Adam Smith and the Prisoner's Dilemma.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 100:1073–81.10.1093/qje/100.Supplement.1073Google Scholar
Ullmann-Margalit, Edna. 1977. The Emergence of Norms. Oxford: Clarendon.Google Scholar
Vanberg, Viktor. 1988. Morality and Economics: De Moribus Est Disputandum. New Brunswick: Transaction Books.Google Scholar
Vanberg, Viktor, and Buchanan, James M.. 1990. “Rational Choice and Moral Order.” In From Political Economy to Economics and Back?, ed. Nichols, James H. Jr., and Wright, Colin. San Francisco.Google Scholar
Witt, Ulrich. 1986. “Evolution and Stability of Cooperation without Enforceable Contracts.” Kyklos 38:245–66.10.1111/j.1467-6435.1986.tb00770.xGoogle Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.