Smith and the other man are being offered the same deal. One might assume that each man would confess against each other. In this case both men would receive five years and not obtain the minimum possible time spent in jail. If each man looked out for him self both will end up worse off than if they had acted in a more benevolent manner. This is what makes the prisoner's dilemma such a paradoxical situation. Both men will be better of if they look out for each other or rather not look out for themselves.

This is a situation that can be used in ev

(III). Rachel, in his essay, points out a catch in this line of reasoning. The catch is that if I act in a way to create the best outcome for myself, one would have to assume the other inmate would have the same reasoning. He may also be an egoist and might rat me out in hopes that I would take all the blame and let him get off with his maximum freedom. This shows that in reality that if we both act in an egotistic manner that it is not in our best interest to confess and implicate each other. By doing so we would both receive five years, where only one year each is possible.

(II). If I myself was in the prisoner's dilemma, and my goal is to spend as little time in jail, I would act in an egotistic manner to maximize my freedom. My reasoning, as an egoist, would be to rat out the other guy hoping that he will remain silent. This would create the most ideal situation for myself. I would spend no time in jail and the other guy's situation is not my concern. This is what makes me an egoist, someone who tries to do the best for themselves. This idea of egotism is not necessarily wrong but rather a way of thinking to create the best outcome for yourself.

(V). A more realistic example of a prisoner's dilemma-type situation could happen just by finding someone's wallet. If an individual picks up a wallet that was lying on the ground in a public park, he might think to himself that he just ran into some good luck and the money inside is now his. The prisoner's dilemma can be used as a parallel to this situation.

Even still it would be in the best interest of the finder of the wallet to attemp

Some common words found in the essay are:
III Rachel, Smith Smith, PRISONER'S DILEMMA, prisoner's dilemma, receive five, own simultaneously own, confess receive five, act egotistic manner, reasoning egoist rat, peoples' affected people, affected people, simultaneously own, own simultaneously, peoples' affected, own individual, person egoist, confess receive, dilemma occur,
Approximate Word count = 1092
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)