In this Book
- Aristotle's Concept of Chance: Accidents, Cause, Necessity, and Determinism
- Book
- 2011
- Published by: State University of New York Press

summary
The first exhaustive study of Aristotle's concept of chance. This landmark book is the first to provide a comprehensive account of Aristotle’s concept of chance. Chance is invoked by many to explain order in the universe, the origins of life, even human freedom and happiness. An understanding of Aristotle’s concept of chance is indispensable for an appreciation of his views on nature and ethics, views which have had a tremendous influence on the development of Western philosophy. Author John Dudley analyzes Aristotle’s account of chance in the Physics, the Metaphysics, in his biological and ethical treatises, and in a number of his other works as well. Important complementary considerations such as Aristotle’s criticism of Presocratic philosophers, particularly Empedocles and Democritus, Plato’s concept of chance, the chronology of Aristotle’s works, and the relevance of Aristotle’s work to evolution and quantum theory are also covered in depth. This is an essential book for scholars and students of Western philosophy.
Table of Contents

- Introduction
- pp. 1-16
- 1. The Doctrine of Phys. II, IV-VI
- pp. 19-57
- 2. The Structure of Phys. II, IV-VI
- pp. 58-71
- 3. Dating Phys. II, IV-VI
- pp. 72-100
- 4. Necessity and Chance
- pp. 101-162
- 5. The Causes of That Which Occurs by Chance
- pp. 163-196
- Part II: Chance in the Ethics of Aristotle
- pp. 197-267
- 7. Chance and Intuition
- pp. 236-257
- Conclusion
- pp. 359-374
- Bibliography
- pp. 375-404
- Index Locorum
- pp. 405-427
- Index Nominum / Index Rerum
- pp. 429-437
Additional Information
ISBN
9781438432281
MARC Record
OCLC
826442823
Pages
416
Launched on MUSE
2012-08-07
Language
English
Open Access
No