 On account of this mutual knowledge, both know that Fiona will choose \(D^1\), and that Alan will respond with \(D^2\). Hence, the \(D^1,D^2\)-outcome results if the Farmers’ Dilemma game is played by agents having this mutual knowledge, though it is suboptimal since both agents would fare better at the  \(C^1,C^2\)-branch.[5]  This argument, which in its essentials is Hume’s argument, is an example of a standard technique for solving sequential games known as backwards  induction.[6]  The basic idea behind backwards induction is that the agents engaged in a sequential game deduce how each will act throughout the entire game by ruling out the acts that are not payoff-maximizing for the agents who would move last, then ruling out the acts that are not payoff-maximizing for the agents who would move next-to-last, and so on. Clearly, backwards induction arguments rely crucially upon what, if any, mutual knowledge the agents have regarding their situation, and they typically require the agents to evaluate the truth values of certain subjunctive conditionals, such as “If I (Fiona) were to choose \(C^1\), then Alan would choose \(D^2\)”.