The history of game theory: From the beginnings to 1945

Mary-Ann Dimand, Robert W Dimand9780203416471, 9780415072571, 0415072573

Game Theory–the formal modelling of conflict and cooperation–first emerged as a recognized field with the publication of John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern’s Theory of Games and Economic Behaviour in 1944. Since then, game-theoretic thinking about choice of strategies and the interdependence of people’s actions has influenced all the social sciences. However, little is known about the history of the theory of strategic games prior to this publication.
In this volume, the history of strategic games–from its origins up to 1945–is traced through the work of 19th Century economists such as Cournot and Edgeworth; voting theorists, including Lewis Carroll; conflict theorists Richardson and Lanchester; probabilists such as Bertrand, Borel, and Ville; and later economists, notably Stackelberg and Zeuthen. This authoritative account of the history of game theory concludes with a historical perspective on the achievement of von Neumann and Morgenstern and an appraisal of the reception of their book.

---

Table of contents :
Book Cover……Page 1
Title……Page 4
Contents……Page 5
Preface……Page 10
INTRODUCTION: DEFINING GAME THEORY AND ITS HISTORY……Page 12
STRATEGIC INTERDEPENDENCE: COURNOT AND DUOPOLY……Page 29
STRATEGIC INTERDEPENDENCE: COURNOT’S HEIRS AND ASYMMETRY……Page 46
STRATEGIC INTERDEPENDENCE: BILATERAL MONOPOLY……Page 65
LEWIS CARROLL AND THE GAME OF POLITICS……Page 95
EARLY MATHEMATICAL MODELS OF CONFLICT……Page 115
THE MINIMAX APPROACH TO NON-COOPERATIVE STRATEGIC GAMES FROM WALDEGRAVE TO BOREL……Page 131
FROM GAMES OF PURE CHANCE TO STRATEGIC GAMES: FRENCH PROBABILISTS AND EARLY GAME THEORY……Page 142
VON NEUMANN AND MORGENSTERN IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE……Page 153
Notes……Page 169
Bibliography……Page 181
Index……Page 195