Luck: Its Nature and Significance for Human Knowledge and Agency

Coffman, E. J.

doi:10.1057/9781137326102

2015

DOI: 10.1057/9781137326102

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Luck: Its Nature and Significance for Human Knowledge and Agency

E. J. Coffman

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Cited by 36 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…In Coffman forthcoming, I bring the Enriched Strokes Account of lucky events to bear on some central debates in epistemology and philosophy of action.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rescher , 28–34). See my footnote 24 for brief critical remarks on Steglich‐Petersen's proposal, which I discuss at greater length in section 1.4 of Coffman forthcoming.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The error theory sketched here will serve, mutatis mutandis, to defend Lackey's (, 259–60) “Derek” counterexample to the Control Account from the claim that the event she deems lucky for her subject (viz., the making of a free throw) really isn't. Matters are more complicated when it comes to Lackey's “Demolition Worker” case, due to some ambiguity in its details; for pertinent discussion of this case, see section 2.2 of Coffman forthcoming.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…I leave such adaptation as homework for interested readers. In section 1.3 of Coffman forthcoming, I show that replacing “is a primary contributor to” with “is counterfactually necessary for” would make the Strokes Account too strong.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…In section 2.1 of Coffman forthcoming, I consider how stroke of luck relates to knowingly performed action . Following Mele and Moser (, 45), I maintain that foreseen side‐effects of intentional actions can count as things one does knowingly but not intentionally.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Strokes of Luck

Coffman

2014

Metaphilosophy

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This essay aims to reorient current theorizing about luck as an aid to our discerning this concept's true philosophical significance. After introducing the literature's leading theories of luck, it presents and defends counterexamples to each of them. It then argues that recent luck theorists' main target of analysis-the concept of an event's being lucky for a subject-is parasitic on the more fundamental notion of an event's being a stroke of luck for a subject, which thesis serves as at least a partial diagnosis of the leading theories' failure. Next, it develops an analysis of strokes of luck that utilizes insights from the recent luck literature. Finally, having set out a comprehensive new analysis of luck-the Enriched Strokes Account of lucky events-the essay revisits the initial counterexamples to the literature's leading theories and argues that the Enriched Strokes Account properly handles all of them.use "do" in a broad sense that covers both performance (for events) and actualization (for states of affairs). Three Leading Theories of LuckSay that possible world W1 is close to world W2 before time t iff W1 differs no more than slightly from W2 up to (but not including) t. With this stipulative definition in hand, we can state the literature's three leading accounts of luck as follows:The Modal Account: Event E is at t (un)lucky for subject S = df. (E happens at t and) (i) E is in some respect good (bad) for S and (ii) E doesn't happen around t in a wide class of possible worlds close to the actual world before t. 4 The Control Account: E is at t (un)lucky for S = df. (i) E is in some respect good (bad) for S, (ii) S hasn't successfully exploited E for some purpose, and (iii) E isn't something S did intentionally. 5 The Mixed Account: E is at t (un)lucky for S = df. (i) E is in some respect good (bad) for S, (ii) E doesn't happen around t in a wide class of worlds close to the actual world before t, and (iii) E isn't something S did intentionally. 6 9 "Causal determinism" here denotes the thesis that "there is at any instant exactly one physically possible future" (van Inwagen 1983, 3). 10 This case is inspired by one due to Williamson 2000, 123. 11 Consider various small changes we could make in the actual world before the time when you won (I assume you played "062976"): "6" is the penultimate number selected; "5" is the 480 E. J. COFFMAN penultimate number selected; and so on. If things had been slightly different in one of these ways before the time when you won, you wouldn't have won around then. So, in a wide class of worlds close to the actual world before the time when you won, you don't win around then.

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“…In Coffman forthcoming, I bring the Enriched Strokes Account of lucky events to bear on some central debates in epistemology and philosophy of action.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rescher , 28–34). See my footnote 24 for brief critical remarks on Steglich‐Petersen's proposal, which I discuss at greater length in section 1.4 of Coffman forthcoming.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Strokes of Luck

Coffman

2014

Metaphilosophy

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On Luck and Modality

Hill

2020

Erkenn

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Epistemic Luck and Epistemic Risk

Navarro

2021

Erkenn

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Luck: Its Nature and Significance for Human Knowledge and Agency

Cited by 36 publications

References 70 publications

Strokes of Luck

Strokes of Luck

On Luck and Modality

Epistemic Luck and Epistemic Risk

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