At least in my country, killing someone for self-defence is already legal.
Right, but “I accidentally ran over his dog, and I was worried that he might kill me later for it, so I immediately backed up and ran him over” probably won’t count as self-defense in your country. But it’s the sort of thing that traditional game theory would advise if killing was legal.
This really is a case where imposing an external incentive can stop people from mutually defecting at every turn.
(Plus, I don’t think I’m going to threaten to kill someone in the foreseeable future, anyway.)
If killing were legal (in a modern state with available firearms, not an ancient tribe with strong reputation effects), threatening to kill someone would be the stupidest possible move. Everyone is a threat to kill you, and they’ll probably attempt it the moment they become afraid that you might do the same.
But it’s the sort of thing that traditional game theory would advise if killing was legal.
I don’t get it… He wouldn’t gain anything by killing you (ETA: other than what your father/wife/whoever would gain by killing him after he kills you), so why would you be afraid he would do that? (Also, I’m not sure the assumptions of traditional game theory apply to humans.)
This really is a case where imposing an external incentive can stop people from mutually defecting at every turn.
If this was the case, I would expect places with less harsh penalties, or with lower probabilities of being convicted, to have a significantly higher homicide rate (all other things being equal). Does anyone have statistics about that? (Though all other things are seldom equal… Maybe the short/medium term effects of a change in legislation within a given country would be better data.)
If this was the case, I would expect places with less harsh penalties, or with lower probabilities of being convicted, to have a significantly higher homicide rate (all other things being equal). Does anyone have statistics about that?
I don’t get it… He wouldn’t gain anything by killing you, so why would you be afraid he would do that? (Also, I’m not sure the assumptions of traditional game theory apply to humans.)
Have you seen The Dark Knight? This is exactly the situation with the two boats. (Not going into spoiler-y detail.) Causal decision theory demands that you kill the other person as quickly and safely (to you) as possible, just as it demands that you always defect on the one-shot (or known-iteration) Prisoner’s Dilemma.
Anyway, I think you shouldn’t end up murdering each other even in that case, and if everyone were timeless decision theorists (and this was mutual knowledge) they wouldn’t. But among humans? Plenty of them would.
Right, but “I accidentally ran over his dog, and I was worried that he might kill me later for it, so I immediately backed up and ran him over” probably won’t count as self-defense in your country. But it’s the sort of thing that traditional game theory would advise if killing was legal.
This really is a case where imposing an external incentive can stop people from mutually defecting at every turn.
If killing were legal (in a modern state with available firearms, not an ancient tribe with strong reputation effects), threatening to kill someone would be the stupidest possible move. Everyone is a threat to kill you, and they’ll probably attempt it the moment they become afraid that you might do the same.
I don’t get it… He wouldn’t gain anything by killing you (ETA: other than what your father/wife/whoever would gain by killing him after he kills you), so why would you be afraid he would do that? (Also, I’m not sure the assumptions of traditional game theory apply to humans.)
If this was the case, I would expect places with less harsh penalties, or with lower probabilities of being convicted, to have a significantly higher homicide rate (all other things being equal). Does anyone have statistics about that? (Though all other things are seldom equal… Maybe the short/medium term effects of a change in legislation within a given country would be better data.)
I haven’t read it yet, but I think this is basically the thesis of Steven Pinker’s The Better Angels of our Nature.
Have you seen The Dark Knight? This is exactly the situation with the two boats. (Not going into spoiler-y detail.) Causal decision theory demands that you kill the other person as quickly and safely (to you) as possible, just as it demands that you always defect on the one-shot (or known-iteration) Prisoner’s Dilemma.
Anyway, I think you shouldn’t end up murdering each other even in that case, and if everyone were timeless decision theorists (and this was mutual knowledge) they wouldn’t. But among humans? Plenty of them would.