Time and Chance: Kantian Ethics and Feminist Philosophy

Abstract

In the book of Ecclesiastes we read: And I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.1 ‘Time’ and ‘chance’ have become the watchwords of much modern moral philosophy, with its emphasis on the centrality of tradition (Alasdair MacIntyre); the fragility of goodness (Martha Nussbaum); and the ubiquity of luck (Bernard Williams). Ecclesiastes conjectures what Richard Rorty confirms: that there is no escape from time and chance; no rationality independent of a tradition; no hiding place from the unfair judgements of an often hostile world.2 KeywordsMoral TheoryFeminist PhilosophyKantian EthicDecent CharacterHostile WorldThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.