Game theory is a powerful analytical tool that has been successfully applied across a wide range of disciplines, including economics, sociology, anthropology, political science, biology, and philosophy. Early research in game theory focused on developing "solution concepts" based on an intuitive understanding of "rational" behavior in strategic situations. These solutions were argued to be both predictively accurate and normatively justified to some degree. By the late 1990s, however, foundational questions began to challenge many of the basic assumptions underlying game theory. What notions of rationality are necessary for the validity of its predictions and recommendations? If human behavior diverges from these ideals, does game theory lose its relevance? Or can its core insights be adapted and reinterpreted to preserve their value?

This seminar is divided into two modules, each offering a different perspective on these foundational questions:

• Epistemic Game Theory: This module presents key results that characterize classic solution concepts based on the players' rationality and their mutual beliefs about each other's rationality.
• Strategic Reasoning and Social Dynamics: This module explores the interplay between reasoning and social dynamics in shaping strategic behavior. It combines insights from evolutionary game theory, which studies the evolution of strategies in populations, with an analysis of the processes of deliberation and reasoning that influence choices in strategic situations.

Some previous exposure to game and decision theory will be helpful, but is not required (I will do my best to provide the necessary background in game and decision theory). This is an interdisciplinary topic, and so our readings will be taken from economics, logic, philosophy and cognitive science journals.