Stag Hunt
- Inventor of Game: Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Infamous philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau came up with the Stag Hunt game theory. In his game, he tells us two hunters must decide separately whether to hunt a stag or hare. They also cannot know what the other chooses until they’re out on the hunt. Both players are aware that if you want to properly hunt a stag, it will take the help of their hunting partner. However, one hunter alone could catch a hare. They’ll also do it with less time and effort. However, the hare is worth far less and will give a lot less meat than the stag. Rousseau’s felt that many hunters, acting individually, would go for the hare. While it would bring in less, it is a guarantee.
However, Rousseau feels the best decision would be for both hunters to aspire for the bigger reward of the stag. This means they’d need to trust that the other hunter would decide the same as them. While his concept is sensible, this would likely happen with two friends who tend to go hunting together. They’d likely know their friend would go for the bigger prize so it only makes sense for them to pick that too. Yet those who do not know the other hunter would more than likely pick the hare because they cannot be sure what the other unknown hunter will pick. Thus, they are assured there will be meat even if small versus the potential of nothing.