Myth of Luck

Philosophy, Fate, and Fortune

Häftad, Engelska, 2020

AvSteven D. Hales,USA) Hales, Steven D. (Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

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Humanity has thrown everything we have at implacable luck—novel theologies, entire philosophical movements, fresh branches of mathematics—and yet we seem to have gained only the smallest edge on the power of fortune. The Myth of Luck tells us why we have been fighting an unconquerable foe.Taking us on a guided tour of one of our oldest concepts, we begin in ancient Greece and Rome, considering how Plato, Plutarch, and the Stoics understood luck, before entering the theoretical world of probability and exploring how luck relates to theology, sports, ethics, gambling, knowledge, and present-day psychology. As we travel across traditions, times and cultures, we come to realize that it’s not that as soon as we solve one philosophical problem with luck that two more appear, like heads on a hydra, but rather that the monster is altogether mythological. We cannot master luck because there is nothing to defeat: luck is no more than a persistent and troubling illusion.By introducing us to compelling arguments and convincing reasons that explain why there is no such thing as luck, we finally see why in a very real sense we make our own luck, that luck is our own doing. The Myth of Luck helps us to regain our own agency in the world - telling the entertaining story of the philosophy and history of luck along the way.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2020-08-20
Mått136 x 214 x 22 mm
Vikt322 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor240
FörlagBloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN9781350149298

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Steven D. Hales, Ph.D. (Brown) is Professor and Chair of Philosophy at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, USA. He works primarily in metaphysics and epistemology, and also in popular philosophy. He has been a Visiting Professor at the Universities of Cambridge, Turin, Edinburgh, and London. He is an award-winning writer and teacher, and has published numerous books and articles. Find him at stevenhales.org.

Acknowledgements1. Lachesis's Lottery and the History of LuckThe Myth of Er Tuche and FortunaSubmission to luck: lucky charms Rebellion against luck: Stoicism Denial of luck: all is fatedLuck and gambling2.Luck and Skill Slaying Laplace's DemonA probability theory of luck Winners and losersBuying hope on credit A skill equation?Problems with probability3. Fragility and Control Invisible cities of the possibleThe garden of (logically) forking paths A modal theory of luckTransworld 2000 Lucky necessitiesA control theory of luck Séances and rubber hands Wimbledon 2012Synchronic and diachronic luck4. Moral LuckThe Kantian puzzle The Egg of ColumbusThe accidental Nazi and the museum of medical oddities Equalizing fortunePrivilege Essential origins5. Knowledge and SerendipityFinding Meno Discover « forgetThe man who sold the Eiffel Tower and other skeptical threats The Overton WindowSerendipityDivide and conquer 6. The Irrational Biases of LuckThe frame shop Dueling vignettesOptimism vs. pessimismSailing stones and flying witches Machine gamblingAgainst luckGo luck yourselfNotes BibliographyIndex