Evolutionary Game Theory

Evolutionary game theory is the application of game-theoretic reasoning to populations of agents who do not calculate optimal strategies but inherit them and reproduce according to relative success. Introduced by Maynard Smith and Price in 1973 to explain ritualized animal conflict without lethal escalation, it replaces rational choice with natural selection as the mechanism of strategic optimization. The central concept is the evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS), but the field has increasingly moved beyond equilibrium analysis to study cyclical dynamics, spatial structure, and the evolution of cooperation in networked populations. The replicator equation of evolutionary dynamics is the standard mathematical engine, though agent-based models and stochastic process approaches are gaining ground for finite-population analysis.