A Game-Theoretic Interpretation of Sun Tzu's the Art of War
- Creators
- Niou, Emerson M. S.
- Ordeshook, Peter C.
Abstract
Over twenty five hundred years ago the Chinese scholar Sun Tzu, in The Art of War, attempted to codify the general strategic character of conflict and, in the process, offer practical advice about how to win military conflicts. His advice is credited with having greatly influenced both Japanese military and business practices, as well as Mao Tse-Tung's approach to conflict and revolution. The question, however, is whether or to what extent Sun Tzu anticipated the implications of the contemporary theory of conflict -- game theory. The thesis of this essay is that he can be credited with having anticipated the concepts of dominant, minmax, and mixed strategies, but that he failed to intuit the full implications of the notion of equilibrium strategies. Thus, while he offers a partial resolution of "he-thinks-that-I-think" regresses, his advice remains vulnerable to a more complete strategic analysis.
Additional Information
This research was supported by NSF grant #SES-8822308 to Duke University and NSF grant #SES-8922262 to the California Institute of Technology Published as Niou, Emerson MS, and Peter C. Ordeshook. "A Game-Theoretic Interpretation of Sun Tzu's: The Art of War." Journal of Peace Research 31, no. 2 (1994): 161-174.Attached Files
Submitted - sswp738.pdf
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 81054
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20170831-162255007
- NSF
- SES-8822308
- NSF
- SES-8922262
- Created
-
2017-09-01Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2019-10-03Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Social Science Working Papers
- Series Name
- Social Science Working Paper
- Series Volume or Issue Number
- 738