PHI 4311 Lecture 16: 2014-10-30 - Smilansky - Fortunate Misfortune.docx
Document Summary
Thesis: if a seemingly unfortunate aspect of a life has proven to be beneficial overall, then it has not been a real misfortune. Ex: abigail physical and breathing abnormalities lead to world champion in women"s swimming. Abraham grew up in poverty and worked hard to become extremely wealthy: defining a fortune misfortune (fm) and terms associated with it, disguised fortune. Ex: breaking your leg and falling in love with the doctor: blessing in disguise, no serious harm, no strong link between hardship and success, terminology, agency fortunate misfortune, receptivity fortunate misfortune, internal good effects of misfortune. Born into a wealthy family, grows up spoiled. Weak character and low ambition as a result: other people in abigail"s and abraham"s situations, abraham"s and abigail"s hardship cannot be considered a misfortune. If the misfortune bred success, it could be viewed as an opportunity.