In new article for The Journal of Interdisciplinary History via MIT Press, Oliver Weingarten reads ancient Chinese narrative sources through the prism of signalling theory, an area of game theory dealing with communication among competing actors, in order to explicate the rationale behind depictions of seemingly reckless brinksmanship and self-harming behaviour. The article tentatively posits an increased etic understanding of the underlying signalling mechanisms over time, although such a historical development can only be implicitly inferred. The goal of the article is to show that apparent irrationality can, in the cases under investigation, be neatly accounted for within the conceptual framework of signalling theory.
Learn more: Costly Signaling in Ancient Chinese Narratives | The Journal of Interdisciplinary History | MIT Press
