GAME THEORY

The concepts of game theory are analyzed to determine their selective usefulness for studying certain types of problems and obtaining certain types of conclusions. It is found that game theory lends itself to perspectives and applications which do not question the assumptions underlying existing structures or institutions in society. The selective usefulness of game theory concepts is reflected in the actual uses and applications of the theory; several examples are given. Furthermore, this selective usefulness is quite compatible with what is known about the origins of game theory. The study of game theory concepts provides a useful example of a perspective on mathematics from which mathematical frameworks, as well as associated concepts, are seen as being value-laden.

There are now several studies showing how the content of scientific knowledge may be shaped by political, economic, social, intellectual, or other 'non-scientific' influences'. There are also studies which show that scientific knowledge (often that produced under the influence of such 'non-scientific' factors) can selectively lend itself to certain practical or ideological uses. For example, the concepts underlying the Darwinian theory of evolution (survival of the fittest, the struggle for existence) may be traced to prior concepts used to explain capitalist society; the concepts of evolution in turn lent themselves to a justification of social policies which reinforced this type of social organization (Social Darwinism).