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The game is afoot: The French reaction to game theory in the fifties

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  • Rabia Nessah

    (LEM - Lille économie management - UMR 9221 - UA - Université d'Artois - UCL - Université catholique de Lille - Université de Lille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, IESEG School of Management Lille)

  • Tarik Tazdaït

    (CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AgroParisTech - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - Université Paris-Saclay - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales, ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech)

  • Mehrdad Vahabi

    (CEPN - Centre d'Economie de l'Université Paris Nord - LABEX ICCA - UP13 - Université Paris 13 - Université Sorbonne Nouvelle - Paris 3 - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UPCité - Université Paris Cité - Université Sorbonne Paris Nord - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Université Sorbonne Paris Nord)

Abstract

In this paper, we are interested in exploring the history of game theory in France, and particularly the way it was received and was diffused in the fifties. It will be shown that France was the most fertile soil in the whole continental Europe for a multidisciplinary welcoming to game theory. Reviewing certain aspects of the intellectual trajectory of the mathematician Guilbaud, the ethnologist Lévi-Strauss and the psychanalyst Lacan, we show how each of them, in his own way, played a key role in advancing game theory: (1) Guilbaud for his constancy in disseminating game theory (and mathematics in general) (2) Lévi-Strauss for his original interpretation of game theory that had some impact on social sciences; and (3) Lacan for using the contributions of game theory. Lacan and Lévi-Strauss were particularly convincing since they were instructed on request about the principles of game theory by Guilbaud.

Suggested Citation

  • Rabia Nessah & Tarik Tazdaït & Mehrdad Vahabi, 2021. "The game is afoot: The French reaction to game theory in the fifties," Post-Print hal-03081226, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03081226
    DOI: 10.1215/00182702-8906005
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-03081226
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Robert W. Dimand & Mary Ann Dimand, 1992. "The Early History of the Theory of Strategic Games from Waldegrave to Borel," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 24(5), pages 15-27, Supplemen.
    2. Robert Leonard, 1997. "Value, sign, and social structure: the 'game' metaphor and modern social science," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(2), pages 299-326.
    3. Henri Guitton, 1955. "Les rencontres économiques," Revue Économique, Programme National Persée, vol. 6(6), pages 857-880.
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    Cited by:

    1. Pierre Courtois & Tarik Tazdaït, 2021. "Jacques Lacan and game theory: an early contribution to common knowledge reasoning," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(5), pages 844-869, September.

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