Assignment 2: The Prisoner’s
Dilemma; What is in My Best Interest?
We learned in earlier
discussions that according to Aristotle and Bentham, one’s happiness was the
highest goal. Enter social contract. How does one ensure one’s self-interest
when one has to compromise with another to achieve the goal? David Gauthier
proposes that it is possible, offering the Prisoner’s Dilemma as an example.
According to the story of the
Prisoner’s Dilemma, two people have been brought in for questioning, conducted
separately, about a crime they are suspected to have committed. The police have
solid evidence of a lesser crime that they committed, but need confessions in
order to convict them on more serious charges. Each prisoner is told that if
she cooperates with the police by informing on the other prisoner, then she
will be rewarded by receiving a relatively light sentence of one year in
prison, whereas her cohort will go to prison for ten years. If they both remain
silent, then there will be no such rewards, and they can each expect to receive
moderate sentences of two years. And if they both cooperate with police by
informing on each other, then the police will have enough to send each to
prison for five years. The dilemma then is this: in order to serve her own interests
as well as possible, each prisoner reasons that no matter what the other does
she is better off cooperating with the police by confessing. Each reasons: “If
she confesses, then I should confess, thereby being sentenced to five years
instead of ten. And if she does not confess, then I should confess, thereby
being sentenced to one year instead of two. So, no matter what she does, I
should confess.” The problem is that when each reasons this way, they each
confess, and each goes to prison for five years. However, had they each
remained silent, thereby cooperating with each other rather than with the
police, they would have spent only two years in prison.
(Note: For additional
information, you can read more about Gauthier by copying the URL into your
internet browser. (http://www.iep.utm.edu/soc-cont/#SH2a). It will take you to the Internet Encyclopedia of
Philosophy. The link takes you to the beginning of a great article on social
contract. The outline at the beginning shows that the discussion on Gauthier
and the Prisoner’s Dilemma is in the middle of the article, in the “More Recent
Theories” section, following Rawls. Gauthier comments on the idea that the
Prisoner’s Dilemma shows that it is in an individual’s best interest to
cooperate, even when it means that they will give up some individual freedom.)
Assignment Requirements:
Write a 3-page (650-750 word)
paper addressing the following questions:
1. Consider the concepts of utilitarianism, egoism,
and social contract. What moral theory—utilitarianism, egoism, or social
contract—is consistent with cooperating with the other prisoner and rejecting
self-interest as the best option? What is the recommended course of action
for each prisoner in regard to the other two theories?
2. From your experience, is cooperation always in your
best interest? Share an example. Alternatively, to state it negatively, why do
selfish, self-centered people seem to prosper if cooperation is always in their
best interest?
Post the 3-page (650-750
words) All written assignments and responses should follow citation rules
for attributing sources. Please use Microsoft Word spelling/grammar checker
before submitting your paper.Please remember that the plagiarism policy applies.
Assignment will be put through Turnitin.
|
Assignment 2 Grading Criteria |
Maximum Points |
|
Significant critical |
24 |
|
Used a personal, |
16 |
|
Constructed an argument that |
24 |
|
Wrote in a clear, concise, |
20 |
|
Justified ideas and |
16 |
|
Total: |
