Why Two Recent Attempts to Rescue Constitutive Luck Do Not Work

According to Rescher, luck is chancy, but constitution is not, and so constitutive luck is a contradiction in terms.In this paper, I look at two recent attempts to controvert this argument. According to the first, constitution is notchancy, but neither is moral luck, because moral luck is not a species of luck. According to the second, moral luckis chancy, but constitution is too, because the comparative class is not the agent herself but rather the populationat large. I argue that neither of these attempts is successful. I begin by explaining the importance of constitutiveluck.

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Publication Details

Journal
De Ethica A Journal of Philosophical Theological and Applied Ethics
Published
2025-04-09
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3384/de-ethica.2001-8819.25845
Primary Topic
Free Will and Agency
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Why Two Recent Attempts to Rescue Constitutive Luck Do Not Work

Samuel J. M. Kahn
De Ethica A Journal of Philosophical Theological and Applied Ethics
Free Will and Agency
article

Why Two Recent Attempts to Rescue Constitutive Luck Do Not Work

Samuel J. M. Kahn
article en

Abstract

According to Rescher, luck is chancy, but constitution is not, and so constitutive luck is a contradiction in terms.In this paper, I look at two recent attempts to controvert this argument. According to the first, constitution is notchancy, but neither is moral luck, because moral luck is not a species of luck. According to the second, moral luckis chancy, but constitution is too, because the comparative class is not the agent herself but rather the populationat large. I argue that neither of these attempts is successful. I begin by explaining the importance of constitutiveluck.

De Ethica A Journal of Philosophical Theological and Applied EthicsVol. 8(4)
Openalex Percentile: Top 93%
Free Will and Agency
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Why Two Recent Attempts to Rescue Constitutive Luck Do Not Work — Samuel J. M. Kahn · De Ethica A Journal of Philosophical Theological and Applied Ethics (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS