MULTI-AGENT SYSTEMS AND GAME THEORY—A PEIRCEAN MANIFESTO AHTI-VEIKKO PIETARINEN* Department of Philosophy, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 9, FIN-00014, Finland (Received 21 October 2002; In final form 21 November 2003) Game theory provides fresh insights into computational multi-agent systems by introducing strategic dimensions into systems that otherwise may rest on unstable methodology. Games, as goal-oriented processes, also economize agent interaction by providing methods of approaching agent rationality as well as its bounded manifestations. Since games are open systems, heeding this methodological stance will turn agents into such open systems too. Unfortunately, this contribution has remained in the shadows of the mainstream agent research. My purpose is to explore the philosophical foundations of the connection between agents and strategic interactions in terms of the semiotic theory of Charles S. Peirce. I will correlate some foundational aspects of the interplay between the two fields, agents and games, with Peirce’s pragmatist philosophy. These aspects, I argue, may be included in the research agenda. Keywords: Multi-agent systems, game theory, open systems, semiotics, pragmatism 1. INTRODUCTION In this paper, I shall apply the pragmatist philosophy of C. S. Peirce (1839–1914) to the foundational investigation of the interplay between game theory and multi-agent systems. The paper is organized as follows: In the second section, I discuss some general concepts linking games and agents, including the category of Thirdness, the notion of a habit, functional or second-order evaluation of concepts of existence and reaction and open systems as adjoined with this philosophy. In the third section, I revisit the methodology of multi-agent systems, and critically expound the notions of agenthood, rationality, autonomy, proactiveness, reactiveness and social ability associated with it. In the fourth section, I investigate games vis-a ´-vis general systems theory, outlining the extensive forms of games and open systems, together with some of the foundational ramifications as found in the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein. In the fifth section, I move to applications in the interface of agent and game methodology, including team theory, bargaining and negotiation and the recently emerged concept of a semantic web. The sixth section concludes the paper. ISSN 0308-1079 print/ISSN 1563-5104 online q 2004 Taylor & Francis Ltd DOI: 10.1080/0308107042000193552 *E-mail: pietarin@cc.helsinki.fi International Journal of General Systems, August 2004 Vol. 33 (4), pp. 395–414