Counterfactual Reasoning in Baduk

To say the least, I think it mandatory to exploit all our theories and techniques in cognitive science in order to understand Baduk, which is the most sophisticated intellectual game ever devised by humans. It is not a mere coincidence that counterfactual reasoning looms large in both playing and studying Baduk. In this chapter, I would like to examine in somewhat cursory fashion what a cognitive scientist, who has been tormented by recurrent problems of analyzing counterfactuals, might learn something from counterfactual reasoning in Baduk. At the same time, it might enhance Baduk players’ self-consciousness of what exactly they are doing in their constant performance of counterfactual reasonings.