Lauren Stevens, Chapter 2, Question 5

The passage that struck me as profound is the example about the prisoners. Its a great example for many real life scenarios, some of which Wheelan gave in the book. It really shows how humans don't trust each other in any situation. The way most of us live, without even realizing it, is an "every man for himself" mentality. The situation with the prisoners encompasses this perfectly, since both of them know they will only have a 5 year sentence if they don't confess anything, yet they still confess to the murder in order to avoid the life sentence. Our own self interest is in our frame of mind without even realizing it which goes along with rational self-interest.