The Fragility of Goodness
Luck and Ethics in Greek Tragedy and Philosophy

This book, first published in 2001, is a study of ancient views about 'moral luck'.

Martha C. Nussbaum (Author)

9780521791267, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 15 January 2001

592 pages
23.5 x 16.1 x 4.1 cm, 0.938 kg

"Over fifteen years since its first appearance, this work is still of interest to literary critics, philosophers and intellectual historians alike." Patrick O'Sullivan, University of Cantebury, Christchurch, NZ

This book is a study of ancient views about 'moral luck'. It examines the fundamental ethical problem that many of the valued constituents of a well-lived life are vulnerable to factors outside a person's control, and asks how this affects our appraisal of persons and their lives. The Greeks made a profound contribution to these questions, yet neither the problems nor the Greek views of them have received the attention they deserve. This book thus recovers a central dimension of Greek thought and addresses major issues in contemporary ethical theory. One of its most original aspects is its interrelated treatment of both literary and philosophical texts. The Fragility of Goodness has proven to be important reading for philosophers and classicists, and its non-technical style makes it accessible to any educated person interested in the difficult problems it tackles. This edition, first published in 2001, features a preface by Martha Nussbaum.

Preface
1. Luck and ethics
Part I. Tragedy: Fragility and Ambition: 2. Aeschylus and practical conflict
3. Sophocles' Antigone: conflict, vision, and simplification
Part II. Plato: Goodness without Fragility: 4. The Protagoras: a science of practical reasoning
Interlude 1. Plato's anti-tragic theater
5. The Republic: true value and the standpoint of perfection
6. The speech of Alcibiades: a reading of the Symposium
7. 'This story isn't true': madness, reason, and recantation in the Phaedrus
Part III. Aristotle: The Fragility of the Good Human Life: Introduction
8. Saving Aristotle's appearances
9. Rational animals and the explanation of action
10. Non-scientific deliberation
11. The vulnerability of the Good Human Life: activity and disaster
12. The vulnerability of the Good Human Life: relational goods
Appendix to Part III
Interlude 2. Luck and the tragic emotions
Epilogue. Tragedy
13. The betrayal of convention: a reading of Euripedes' Hecuba.

Subject Areas: History of Western philosophy [HPC]