Luck
Subtitle: the brilliant randomness of everyday life
By: Nicholas Rescher.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Published: 1995
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 237
Subjects: Chance.; Fate and fatalism.; Fortune.
Description: In Luck, one of our most eminent philosophers offers a realistic view of the nature and operation of luck to help us come to sensible terms with life in a chaotic world. Differentiating luck from fate (inexorable destiny) and fortune (mere chance), Nicholas Rescher weaves a colorful tapestry of historical examples from antiquity to the present.

Luck cannot be manipulated or controlled, Rescher argues, but it can be managed to some extent. From the use of lots in the Old and New Testaments to Thomas Gataker's treatise of 1619 on the great English lottery of 1612, from casino gambling to playing the stock market, Nicholas Rescher's Luck shows how the tiger of luck can be tamed to improve our chances for good luck, reduce those for bad, and in general improve the fortune of mankind.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 213-231) and index.

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