The Machinations of Luck

Metaphilosophy 45 (4-5):620-626 (2014)
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Abstract

Luck is at issue when it is a matter of pure chance that a result of significant positive of negative value ensues for someone. Luck differs from fate, which pivots on an individual's condition, and from fortune, which pivots on an individual's talent and effort. It is by luck that you are rich when you win the lottery, by fortune if your wealth comes from talent and hard work, and by fate if you inherit those millions. On this basis luck lies beyond anyone's rational control. With risk as the probability of failure in a chancy situation and the stake as the difference between a favorable and an unfavorable outcome, luck can be measured as the product of these quantities: L = R × S. The condition of humankind in an uncertain world being as it is, luck cannot be eliminated as a key factor of our existence, be it in cognitive, practical, or ethical regards

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Nicholas Rescher
University of Pittsburgh

Citations of this work

Moral Principles: A Challenge for Deniers of Moral Luck.Anna Nyman - forthcoming - Ergo: An Open Access Journal of Philosophy.
Towards a Hybrid Account of Luck.Job de Grefte - 2020 - Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 101 (2):240-255.
Pritchard Versus Pritchard on Luck.Job De Grefte - 2019 - Metaphilosophy 50 (1-2):3-15.
Towards a Hybrid Account of Luck.Job Grefte - 2020 - Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 101 (2):240-255.

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References found in this work

Luck: the brilliant randomness of everyday life.Nicholas Rescher - 1995 - New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Luck.Nicholas Rescher - 1990 - Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association 64 (3):5 - 19.

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