The prisoners' dilemma. Are we all prisoners?

Does meeting one's obligations to others serve one's self-interest? The logical answer as presented in many philosophers and humanists' views is NO. Hobbes considers the challenge of a "Foole", who claims that it is irrational to honor an agreement made with another who has already fulfilled his part of the agreement. Noting that in this situation one has gained all the benefit of the other's compliance, the Foole contends that it would now be best …showed first 75 words of 1810 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1810 total…be beneficial to them. REFERENCES: - Becker, Neal and Ann Cudd, "Indefinitely Repeated Games: A Response to Carroll," Theory and Decision 1990 - Howard, Nigel, Paradoxes of Rationality, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press1971 -Kavka, Gregory, "Hobbes War of All Against All," Ethics 1983 - Kreps, David, Paul Milgrom, John Roberts and Robert Wilson, "Rational Cooperation in the Finitely Repeated Prisoner's Dilemma," Journal of Economic Theory 1982 - Poundstone, William, Prisoner's Dilemma New York: Doubleday 1992 <Tab/>