Moral Luck

Luck plays a part in determining our judgments and in causing us to question our notions of morality. Should a successful murderer be punished more severely than an unsuccessful one? Should a person be praised for his fine moral character which was a consequence of his good luck in being born into a certain kind of family, in particular historical circumstances? These questions and other ideas are discussed in this book by leading philosophers Bernard Williams, Thomas Nagel, Martha C. Nussbaum, Don Levi, Judith Andre, Henning Jensen, Nicholas Rescher, Norvin Richards, Steven Sverdlik, Judith Jarvis Thomson, Michael J. Zimmerman, and Margaret U. Walker. The reader is stimulated to reflect on his or her basic notions of morality, especially those of responsibility, agency, and justification.