PP-2016-22: The Rules of Victorious Warriors

PP-2016-22: van Emde Boas, Peter and van Emde Boas-Lubsen, Ghica (2016) The Rules of Victorious Warriors. [Report]

Preview	Text (Full Text) PP-2016-22.text.pdf Download (1MB) | Preview
	Text (Abstract) PP-2016-22.abstract.txt Download (1kB)

Abstract

Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win. This phrase, attributed to Sun Tzu in his book "The Art of War", is a strong recommendation for generals to analyse a combat scenario before actually engaging in combat. This analysis can be understood to require some form of game analysis.

In this paper we will discuss whether it is appropriate to ascribe a game theoretical perspective to the ancient Chinese strategical thinkers.
In addition we search for indications in ancient Chinese history and literature or tradition whether Chinese warriors actually used game analytic principles in their strategic considerations. We also indicate aspects of these stories which illustrate interesting connections to game theoretical concepts.

This paper is a stand alone version of a draft chapter in the forthcoming handbook of logical thought in China (http://www.springer.com/us/book/9783662438220).

Item Type:	Report
Report Nr:	PP-2016-22
Series Name:	Prepublication (PP) Series
Year:	2016
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Sun Tzu, Art of War, Strategy, Logic, Game Theory, Ancient Chinese History
Depositing User:	Peter Emde Boas
Date Deposited:	12 Oct 2016 14:37
Last Modified:	12 Oct 2016 14:37
URI:	https://eprints.illc.uva.nl/id/eprint/558

Actions (login required)

View Item